Twenty Four Hours In October
by Roses in May
Summary: COMPANION PIECE TO QUIL'S RESOLVE. Short vignettes during the twenty four hours of Claire's sixteenth birthday.
1. Woken From A Dream

**What can I say, I can't help myself. I still had some ideas in my head, so this is a companion piece to my first two stories (Quil's Guilt & Quil's Resolve). You don't have to read them, but I reference characters/situations from the first two stories so you might want to check them out.**

**Unlike the other two stories, the chapters in this one are short and sweet. I also don't have this whole story plotted out like the other two were, so updating might take longer.**

**I don't own Twilight nor it's fascinating characters. I'm just borrowing them.**

**I wouldn't mind if you took the time to review. Thanks!**

**All chapter titles taken from songs.**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Woken From A Dream" by Murasko off the album "Lost in Razzi Berry Field" **

**As usual I've blathered on and on, so read and I hope you enjoy!**

**Roses in May**

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**Quil & Claire: October 30 6:42 AM**

Quil's dream had been so vivid, so real. Every color, every touch, every scent permanently etched in his memory, that his first waking thought was maybe it hadn't been a dream at all. He lay, his eyes closed and inhaled deeply. He could still smell her. The scent that was so perfectly Claire. Her coconut shampoo, the light perfume she wore that he loved so much, it's citrus scent leaving a tang in his overly sensitive nose. He inhaled again and smiled. It was almost as if she were in the room with him right now.

He refused to open his eyes, hoping for sleep to reclaim him, to fall back into that beautiful dream. As he lay, convincing himself to drift away again, a sudden weight pounced on him. It was so unexpected that he bolted upright, an involuntary shriek forcing itself from his lips. His eyes flew open and he found himself face to face with Claire, who had planted herself on his lap. For a moment he wondered if he had in fact fallen asleep again, but then reasoned that if this were a dream, he most likely wouldn't have shrieked. Plus Dream Claire would probably be wearing something slightly more revealing than her sweatpants and hoodie.

Claire, trying to suppress her laughter, gave Quil an amused smile. "You just screamed like a little girl," She giggled.

Quil attempted some macho posturing, gave up, and leaned back on his elbows. "You surprised me," he muttered, utterly humiliated.

"It kind of reminded me of how Grace sounds when she and Sharon fight," Claire informed him.

Quil frowned. "Grace sounds like a freaking banshee woman when she yells. I did _not_ sound like a banshee."

"I can't believe Seth and Embry haven't crashed through the door, looking for the girl in distress," Claire said with a smirk.

"Okay, okay I told you, you surprised me. What more do you want? Besides neither of them are home," Quil scowled.

"You would think that as a werewolf-"

Quil held up a finger. "Shape-shifter," he corrected her.

"Whatever, as a _shape-shifter _with, you know, heightened senses and all, that you would have heard me come in."

"I was deep in REM. I had a very late night for your information. It dulls the senses."

"Deep in REM huh. Well you weren't chattering away as you are wont to do….." Claire gave him a mischievous smile. "Were you dreaming?"

Quil nodded. "As a matter of fact, I was."

"Hmmm, about anyone I know?" She asked.

Quil gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Maybe," he said.

"Me?" Claire pressed.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Quil said coyly.

Claire gave him a knowing gaze and wiggled her hips. "Feels like it was about me," She smiled.

Quil gave her a prissy look. "Don't flatter yourself, I could have been dreaming about dirt and woken up with a hard on." He flopped back onto his pillows.

Claire gave Quil a placating smile. She lay forward, crossed her arms on his chest and gave him a smug look. "So, know what today is?"

Quil pretended to think for a moment. "Saturday?" He replied.

Claire shook her head, an amused smile playing on her lips.

"I know for a fact it's Saturday, because yesterday was Friday," Quil said primly.

Claire just looked at him.

Quil dropped the act and gave her a shy smile. "I know exactly what day it is," he whispered. "I've been counting the hours, the minutes, the seconds." He wrapped his arms around Claire and pulled her snug against him, his large hands resting on the small of her back. "It's your sixteenth birthday."

Claire nodded against his chest. "Yes, it is," she said softly.

Quil pushed his face into her hair and inhaled. "God it feels good to have you this close again. I've missed it."

"Me too. I think this has been the hardest year of my life."

"I know it's been the hardest of mine," Quil breathed. He sat up, guiding Claire with him and looked into her eyes. "I love you," he murmured. He pushed her long dark hair off her shoulders and buried his face in her neck. Lightly he let his lips trail a path up and down the side of her neck. Claire shuddered in his arms and ran her hands through his shortly cropped hair. Quil moved his kisses up her jaw and tried to capture her lips when suddenly there was a hand in his face. Quil whimpered and opened his eyes. "Why? Why would you be so mean?"

Claire smiled and leaned back, her hands using his knees for support. "Well, you see, this guy I know, he made all these awful rules that were horrible and pure torture for me. Then he went a whole year and barely touched me. It was so difficult to deal with-"

Quil tried to pull her closer again. "Let me make up for it," he begged.

Claire squirmed out of his grasp and climbed off Quil's bed. "It's not that simple," she smiled. "You're just going to have to be...patient." She sashayed across his room to the door.

"Claire," Quil whined. "Where are you going?"

"I have a party to get ready for," she said.

Quil glanced at his clock. "You have hours. Stay with me, please."

Claire turned and gave Quil an evil smile. "Oh I would stay, but Quil...it would be wrong." She winked and walked out of his room, closing the door behind her.

Quil stared at the door in disbelief for a moment, then groaned and dropped back onto his pillows. He glared at the ceiling. "What did I do to deserve this? I've been so good all year, a saint practically. Let me warn you now God. When I die, you and I are going to have some words. Serious words."

With a sigh, Quil buried himself under his covers. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, but annoyed and very frustrated, he wasn't able to fall asleep. He groaned again and rolled out of bed. He looked down at himself and sighed.

"Down boy," he muttered. He shook his head and shambled out of his room to take a nice cool shower.


	2. Don't Lecture Me

**Chapter title taken from the song "Don't Lecture Me" by The Two-Tone Pinks from the album "Battered and Bruised."**

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**Claire & Sharon: October 30 7:07 AM**

The whole walk home, Claire couldn't keep from smiling. She hadn't been joking when she told Quil the past year had been torture for her. To be so in love and not able to express it hardly at all - she absolutely did not count the few chaste kisses they had shared over the last twelve months as expression- had been so hard to bear. But now, now she was sixteen. Quil had promised her that when she was sixteen they would be together. Together for real, _not _supervised, but a real couple. Claire had been waiting for this day since she was fourteen. It was going to be amazing. Finally, she would know first hand what all her friends were talking about, would be able to share her _own_ stories. Mindy Klein would stop looking down her nose at Claire, as though being a virgin was the most horrible thing in the world.

She strolled through the back door of her house and danced her way over to the fridge. She hummed to herself as she pulled the door open and grabbed out a bottle of water. As she sipped her water, she couldn't contain the shiver of excitement that passed through her. She would finally be with Quil. And unlike Mindy Klein, she would be with someone she loved.

Claire smiled again as she remembered the look on Quil's face when she had left him earlier. It had felt good - better than she even wanted to admit to herself - to have that power, that control over him, to leave him wanting. To have him begging instead of saying how wrong it was. The very idea that she could be the one in charge now was very exciting.

"Where have you been?"

Claire jumped and slammed the fridge door closed. "God, mom. Give me a heart attack why don't you."

Sharon eyed Claire. "Well?"

Claire shrugged. "I took a walk. I was to excited to sleep."

"Hmmm," Sharon narrowed her eyes. "And how was Quil this morning?"

Claire tried to keep the shock off her face. "Wh- what, Quil? What? I haven't seen Quil today."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Claire."

Claire took a sip of her water and tried to look innocent. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Please, the way you've been dancing around all week? I'm amazed you weren't at his house at 12:01 this morning."

Claire made a face. "He was on patrol." She muttered.

Sharon laughed. "I figured as much." Her smiled faded and she gave Claire a serious look. "Sit down with me a minute, okay?"

Claire pouted. "Mom, I have to take a shower. We have a ton of stuff to get ready for today. Do we have to do this now?"

"Sit your butt down," Sharon commanded.

Claire heaved a great sigh and flopped into a chair next to her mother. "Mom, you and dad have already given me the sex talk. Is this really necessary?"

"Just listen to me for a minute, okay? " Sharon took Claire's hand in hers. "I know you and Quil are in love. I know that this past year has been very hard on both of you and you have no idea how _proud_ I am of both of you. You both have matured a lot since the problems you had last year. But Claire, as your mother I have to say that...I wish you would wait."

Claire began to protest. "Mom, we _have_ waited. I don't see-"

"I know, I know, you think you're ready now. Believe me I remember the feeling. But here's the thing. Quil isn't going anywhere. You and I both know that. I'm not saying you can't have a little _fun_, but sex…. it changes a relationship. You won't ever be able to go back. I just, I wish you would think about it. And if you do decide to sleep with him, then I beg of you to use protection."

"God mom! I know!" Claire was so annoyed. Could her mother _be_ more nosy? She really didn't think so.

"Claire, you can say you know now, but in the heat of the moment, and with the pressure to wait that you two have been under, things like that can seem like a hassle."

"Mom I'm on the pill, remember?" Claire stated. Would it never end?

Claire wasn't embarrassed to talk about these things, her parents had always been very open with both her and her sister,but she also didn't want her mother knowing every detail of her life. Some things just needed to be kept private.

"I know, but it's not full proof. Just promise me you'll make Quil wear a condom."

That was the last straw. Claire jumped up. "Okay, seriously, can you stop this whole conversation, like right now."

She tried to escape to the living room, when Sharon spoke again.

"Claire, I just-" Sharon began quietly.

Claire sighed and turned to face her mother again. "Mom, I promise I'll be safe. You know Quil won't let anything happen to me."

Sharon nodded somberly. "Yes, I do know that," she said softly.

"Then trust me," Claire pleaded. "Trust us."

"I do trust you. I just wish that you would really think about it, that's all I'm saying."

"I will. I promise." Claire gave her mom a small smile. "Can we please not talk about this right now? _Please_?"

"I'm your mother. I worry about you."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not stupid you know."

Sharon sighed. "I know."

"Can I go now?"

Sharon waved her hand at the door. "Go."

Claire raced from the kitchen to her bedroom. Sharon could say whatever she wanted, but Claire was sixteen now. She wondered how long it would be before she didn't have to prove to everyone that she wasn't a little girl anymore.


	3. Basket Case

**Chapter title taken from the song "Basket Case" by Green Day from the album "Dookie"**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate it!**

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**Seth & Julie: October 30 8:38 AM**

"I can't believe this. Unbelievable. It really is. A whole closet and nothing, not one thing."

Seth stirred and sat up in bed. He looked over at Julie who stood across the room, her closet doors thrown wide open. Her back was to him and she was tearing clothes off hangers, tossing things left and right.

"Babe?" He questioned.

Julie spun to look at him, tears gleaming in her eyes. "Nothing fits. I have nothing to wear! All these beautiful clothes and I can't wear any of them. This is all your fault," She snapped. "How could you do this to me?"

Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Sweetie, you have plenty of _new_ beautiful clothes to wear," he said.

Julie gave a harsh laugh through her tears. "What these?" She held up a pair of pants. "These hideous things? I can't wear these! I want to wear REAL clothes! Clothes that don't have gigantic elastic bands around the waist. Clothes that button. Clothes that button over my FLAT stomach." She waved the pants around spastically as she spoke.

Seth crawled out of bed and walked over to the closet. He pulled Julie into an embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Baby, you only have a couple months left."

"I'm too old for this Seth," Julie sobbed into his chest. "I'm forty-nine for Christ sakes! I had all my kids, I was done. This is all because of you. You and your potent, mutant, wolf sperm. I mean this should have been impossible."

Seth tried to suppress his laugh, but it snorted out.

Julie jerked out of his arms and glared. "You're laughing at me? You think my suffering is amusing? It's some kind of joke to you?"

Seth stopped smiling and vehemently shook his head. "No, I'm not laughing at you. I promise."

Julie tossed her arms into the air and choked out another sob. "We have to be at Claire's party in a few hours. I'm going to be surrounded by young, skinny, beautiful teenage girls looking like this." She pointed at her swollen stomach.

"None of those girls are as beautiful as you," Seth told her.

Julie's face crumpled and she grabbed onto Seth again. "You're so sweet," she sobbed. "I don't deserve you. I'm sorry I've been so mean the last few months."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Seth soothed. "Jules, you are having my baby. _Our_ baby. You can be as bitchy to me as you want."

Julie looked up at Seth, her eyes red and swollen. "You think I'm a bitch?" She whispered. A fresh wave of sobbing overtook her. She wrenched out of Seth's arms and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Seth stood in the middle of her bedroom, bewilderment on his face. He could hear Julie rambling in the bathroom.

"I can't even believe this. He thinks I'm a bitch? Just wait buddy, you haven't seen anything yet. This is what I get for having a baby _with _a baby!"

Seth frowned. Sure he was younger than Julie, but he was far from being a baby. That was just insulting. Under normal circumstances he might have gone to her to protest but circumstances had not been normal at all since Julie had gotten pregnant.

"OH MY GOD!" Julie shrieked from behind the bathroom door.

Panic gripped Seth at her yell and he raced over to the bathroom, slamming through the door. "WHAT!? WHAT'S WRONG?!"

Julie sat on the closed toilet seat, her face distraught. "My favorite lipstick isn't in my makeup bag," she said quietly.

Seth clutched a hand over his heart. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!"

Julie's chin trembled. "What am I going to do?"

Seth frowned. "Honey, you have like fifty lipsticks in here," he sifted through her cosmetics bag as he spoke. "Just wear another color."

Julie's eyes widened. "Just…just wear another color?" She asked, disbelief lacing her words.

"Well, yeah. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?"

Seth suddenly realized his mistake and tried urgently to backpedal. "I mean, it must be in here somewhere, right?" He shuffled through her bag again, although since he had no clue what exactly he was looking for, he felt his search was pretty fruitless. After a moment he said. "Maybe you left it at my place."

Julie sniffled and nodded. "Maybe I did. That figures."

Seth, never one to know when to quit while he was ahead said. "You know, this sort of thing could be avoided if we were married and living together."

Julie narrowed her eyes at him. "You really want to get into this conversation with me again? Now? Do you have a death wish? Or are you just that stupid?"

Seth put up his hands. "I'm just saying that you probably wouldn't lose half as much stuff as you do if we lived together."

Julie, her face thunderous, pointed at the bathroom door. "Get…out….of….my….bathroom," She growled.

Seth backed slowly out of the room. "You know, we're going to have a baby in two months. I think it would be a good idea if we just thought about-"

"OUT!"

Seth threw his arms up. "Fine," he said. He stood on the threshold of the bathroom. As an after thought he poked his head back in and said, "I love you, honey."

Julie gave him a withering look. "Don't talk to me." She stood up, walked over and slammed the door in his face.

Seth stood on the other side of the closed door and scrubbed his face with his hands. He loved Julie more than anything in the world, but he prayed the next two months went really fast. Having a hormonal, pregnant girlfriend was starting to give him an ulcer.


	4. Humiliation

**Chapter title taken from the song "Humiliation" by Hugo from the album "Uncommon Courtesy"**

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**Quil, Claire & Sharon: October 30 9:23 AM**

Quil strode with a purpose, his long legs eating up the ground. He took the back steps in one large bound, whipped open the back door, and marched his way into the Ortecho kitchen.

Claire stood at the counter, her wet hair wrapped in a loose towel. She turned and looked over her shoulder at Quil.

"Oh, it's you," She said, trying to make her tone sound uninterested.

Quil walked up behind her, a scowl on his face. "That was very mean what you did to me this morning." He pushed himself up against her back, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively blocking her escape route.

Claire tipped her head back on his chest and looked at him, upside down. "What did I do?" She asked innocently.

Quil leaned down, his voice a harsh whisper in her ear. "You know what you did."

"Are you...are you upset with me?" Claire asked, feigning shock.

Quil growled deep in his chest. "It's not nice to tease," he murmured. He moved his hands off the counter and placed one arm across her chest, the other across her stomach and pulled her close against him. "You have no idea how hard it's been to stay away from you," he whispered into her ear, his lips caressing her earlobe. His hand on her stomach slid down to toy with the waistband of her sweatpants, his fingers brushing just underneath the elastic.

"I know exactly how hard it's been," Claire told him. She placed her hand on top of his and closed her eyes.

"Good morning, Quil," Sharon stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Quil jumped back from Claire, more than a small part of him outraged at the interruption. He tried to control his temper and gave Sharon a grudging smile. "Morning," he practically barked at her.

Sharon's lips curled up in the corners for a moment, but she managed to put an impassive look on her face. "You here to help set up for the party?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah that's exactly why I'm here," Quil grumbled.

Sharon gave him a large, overly cheery smile. "Great!"

Quil narrowed his eyes and then flopped down at the kitchen table. "So what do you need my help with?" His nose wrinkled at the thought of having to do anything girly like frost cupcakes or something even worse….like clean.

Claire turned to Quil and smiled. "Mom, why don't you tell Quil about the conversation we had this morning?" She beamed at Quil, an evil glint sparkling in her eye. "I have to get dressed and do my hair, but I'm sure he'd love to hear all about it."

"Good idea," Sharon said.  "Thank you honey."

Claire smiled again and bounced out of the kitchen.

Quil cocked his head and watched her as she left, a slight smile tugging on the corners of his lips. Suddenly Sharon's face was right in his field of vision and he instinctively shrank back, the smile fading from his lips.

"'Sup?" He asked lamely.

Sharon sat next to him at the table, crossed her legs and leaned forward, her hands folded on the table top. "Well, what's up, is that we're going to have a little chat."

Quil nodded slowly. "Umm, okay," he gulped.

"Quil, I love you. I really do. You know that. And I appreciate how you've taken care of Claire all these years. I also know how hard this past year has been for you. However, just because she is turning sixteen, just because you are allowed to date officially now, that does not mean I am giving you permission to have sex with my daughter."

Quil's eyes widened. "Wh...wha...I...I wasn't..."

Sharon held up her hand. "I realize that you two are going to do whatever it is you are going to do and I can't stop you. I'll just say this. I wish you would wait.  I told Claire the same thing.  And if you don't, you better use protection or I will hunt you down like the mangy dog you are. " She leaned back and smiled. "Okay?" she said chirpily.

Quil's tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth. The only thing he could do was nod dumbly.

Claire stuck her head back into the kitchen. If she was going to be humiliated, well then it was only fair that Quil be just as humiliated.

"She give you the safe sex lecture? She tell you to wear a condom?"

Quil squirmed in his chair. "Could we like, not talk about this?"

Claire smiled and pointed at her mother. "Don't look at me, she's the one who's all concerned about you keeping your manhood covered up."

Quil nodded. "Wow, this is just…..embarrassing on so many levels." He gave a weak laugh.

Claire covered her mouth to suppress her laughter and pulled her head back out of the door.

Quil frowned. Claire was such an instigator.  She was going to pay for this one.

"Quil, I just want you to be safe," Sharon told him. "The last thing I want is my sixteen-year -old daughter getting pregnant."

Quil buried his head in his hands. "Please stop talking now," he begged.

Sharon smiled. "Now Quil, aren't you a little old to be acting this way?" His discomfort was becoming very amusing to her.

"I honestly don't think you're ever to old to be embarrassed about this," he muttered.

Sharon patted his hand and stood up. "I just want to be sure that we understand each other."

"I understand, I understand," Quil groaned.

"Faaaantastic," Sharon grinned. "Now, help me frost these cupcakes."

Quil dropped his head back and could do nothing more than sigh.


	5. Let Forever Be

**Thanks again for all the reviews everyone! I appreciate them!**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Let Forever Be" by The Chemical Brothers from the album "Surrender".**

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**Quil & Mr. Ortecho: October 30 10:02 AM**

"Quil! Hey Quil!" Mr. Ortecho called from the cab of his pickup as he pulled into the driveway.

Quil walked over to the back door and stepped out onto the porch.

"Hey, I picked up all the tables and chairs from Sam and Emily." Mr. Ortecho jerked his thumb towards the truck bed. "Help me unload them, will ya."

Quil nodded. "Sure thing Mr. O." He jumped down from the porch and walked to the truck bed, yanking open the tailgate. "Thanks for saving me. Your wife has had me frosting things."

Mr. Ortecho laughed. "Sounds like my wife." He glanced up at the sky and smiled. "Claire got lucky, it's a beaut today."

"Yeah, it is." Quil reached into the truck bed with one hand, pulled out a picnic table and began to carry it to the lawn.

Mr. Ortecho shook his head. He grabbed a couple of chairs and followed Quil. "It never ceases to amaze me what you guys can do."

Quil set the table down and glanced at Claire's father. "How'd you mean?"

Mr. Ortecho waved his hand. "That. Just picking up that table one handed. Those suckers are heavy, but Sam had everything in the truck in about five minutes. I just find it amazing is all."

"What, the strength?" Quil asked. "I'd think you would find it more amazing that we can all bust out of our clothes and turn into freakishly large wolves." Quil shrugged. "But that's just me."

Mr. Ortecho laughed. "Yeah, that part just creeps me out. I try to pretend I don't know about that."

Quil joined his laughter. "That's the best part!"

Mr. Ortecho's laughter faded and he gave Quil a stern look. "Can we be serious for a minute?"

Quil bit his lip and began to walk back to the truck. If Claire's dad was going to enlighten him with another sex talk, Quil thought they might both be in for a surprise when he did bust out of his clothes and have a wolf fit. "What's on your mind?" He pulled the other picnic table from the truck and started across the lawn again, Mr. Ortecho following in his wake.

"I had a long talk with Sam this morning."

Quil closed his eyes. He unceremoniously dropped the picnic table onto the ground and turned to face Mr. Ortecho. "Yeah.." he said slowly.

"I wanted to talk to you about this whole phasing thing."

Quil gave a quiet sigh of relief. "What about it?" he asked.

Mr. Ortecho sat in one of the chairs and motioned Quil to join him. "I know we've never really talked about it before," he began as Quil sat next to him. "But I think we should. Now I know that you've continued to phase all these years because you were waiting for Claire to catch up to you."

Quil nodded slowly. "Yeah....and well because I love it. I mean it's such a rush you know? To have that complete freedom, to just run and run and never get tired. There's nothing like it."

Mr. Ortecho rubbed his eyes. "I understand that you love it. But here's the thing. Claire loves you. Sharon and I both know that you two are going to get married, no doubts in our mind. Have you thought about what you're going to do afterwards? I mean now that Claire has technically caught up with you age wise? Do you see yourself stopping?"

Quil made a contemplative face. "You know I never really thought about it," he answered truthfully. "It seems like it's taken forever just to get to this point."

"Well now 'this point' is here. I think you should think about…..you know…..stopping. Like those other boys did."

Quil's eyes widened. "Stopping?"

"Yes. I'm not saying today, next year, or even five years from now. But I don't think it would be fair to Claire if you didn't choose to begin aging with her. I just want you to think about it, okay? For her."

Quil sat for a moment, his chin in his hand. He hadn't really ever thought of the day he would stop phasing. Sure Jared and Paul had, but their wives were their age. They had stopped phasing several years before to keep up with them. But Sam hadn't stopped. Would he really have to stop? The very idea of it caused his chest to tighten. He loved being a wolf. He remembered when he first changed, how exhilarating it had been, how exciting. The adrenaline pumping through his whole body, the feeling of flying when he ran, the sound of his huge paws pounding into the ground. He loved every part of it. But did he love it more than Claire? The obvious answer was no, he didn't love anything more than he loved Claire. They had never talked about his stopping, and if he was honest with himself, he was glad they had never talked about it. Claire had never expressed a desire for him to stop. But what if she wanted him to? Well he would have to, if that was what she wanted.

"Quil!" Mr. Ortecho snapped his fingers in front of Quil's face.

Quil jerked out of his thoughts and sat up. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Look, I didn't mean to spring this on you. I just think that you need to be prepared for your future with my daughter."

Quil nodded. "I'll umm…I'll talk to her about it," he said quietly.

"Good man." Mr. Ortecho patted Quil's shoulder. "All right, this stuff isn't going to unload itself. Let's go."

Quil stood to follow Claire's father back to the truck, his mind racing. Why was everyone making everything so complicated? He just wanted to celebrate Claire's sixteenth birthday and now he was thinking about condoms and not phasing anymore. It was all a little much. He felt a tremor run through his body, and immediately suppressed it. Apparently his wolf wasn't very happy with all of this either.


	6. Determined

**Can I just vent a moment please? Okay, what the hell is with the weather in my neck of the woods? It is flipping freezing cold AND it has alternately rained and snowed the past two days. Which sucks. I am used to dealing with the whole 'lake effect snow' issue as I've lived here my whole life, but it is not even November yet so I say WTF??? Okay, I'm done now.**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Determined" by Mudvayne from the album "Lost and Found".**

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**Claire & Grace: October 30 11:29 AM**

"So are you going to do it?"

Claire's eyes flicked up for a moment at her sister's reflection in her vanity mirror. Grace stood in her doorway, leaning against the frame, her hands stuck in the back pockets of her jeans.

Claire turned around on her seat and gave her older sister a look. "Do what?" She asked.

Graced sighed. "Sleep with him?"

Claire frowned and turned back to her mirror. "I really don't think that's any of your business," she replied, her words clipped.

Grace shook her head and walked into Claire's room. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and grabbed one of Claire's stuffed animals. She absently picked at the old, beaten up unicorn's mane. "I over heard you and mom talking this morning. I think she's right."

Claire made a face at her sister in the mirror. "When do you _ever_ think mom is right. About anything?" She glared at her sister. "And could you not do that please?" She indicated the small pile of fluff Grace had pulled from the unicorn. "Quil gave me that."

Graced tossed the unicorn to the side and lay down on the bed. "I know mom and I don't always agree. And I know that lately, you and I haven't gotten along so well."

Claire snorted. "Lately? Grace we've been in a permanent fight for three years now. I think it's lucky you're staying in the college dorms, or it might have come to siblingacide or whatever."

"It's siblicide," Grace informed her.

"Whatever," Claire rolled her eyes.

"For the record….I'm sorry okay? I just have had a lot of stuff going on, that maybe, if everyone wasn't so focused on you and Quil, might have gotten noticed," Grace said in a resigned tone.

Claire, in the middle of applying her lipstick, paused. "You really think that?" She asked softly.

"Think what?"

"That nobody notices your stuff because of me and Quil?"

Grace sat up and shrugged. "I don't know, sometimes…..yeah I guess I do."

Claire dropped her head a moment, then turned to look at her sister. "I'm sorry that you feel that way."

Grace shrugged again. "I've gotten used to it. Look, I was serious before. I don't think you should sleep with him yet."

Claire sighed. "This coming from you? I'm not buying it."

"Claire, I've done a lot of things in my life that I regret. One of them was sleeping with a guy just to prove something to my friends."

"It's different with Quil. You know that. He's not just _some_ guy. And I'm not trying to prove anything. I love him. He loves me. What else matters?"

Grace raised her eyebrows. "You think I haven't heard you and Mindy talking? Claire, she's practically been forcing you into everything you do since you were twelve. Can you honestly say that if you do sleep with him, you aren't going to be throwing it in Mindy's face first thing?"

Claire's shoulders slumped. "No," she whispered.

"I'm just telling you to think about it, that's all, okay?" Grace stood up. "Happy Birthday by the way." She strode towards the door.

"Hey Grace?"

Grace turned to look at her little sister again. "What?"

"I'm sorry that we aren't, I don't know, closer I guess."

Grace gave Claire a small smile. "Me too. It's been pretty sucky between us, I know. But you know what? Maybe with me being gone…..you know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that."

Claire nodded. "Maybe," she said softly. "I'm glad you came home for my birthday. It would have felt kind of weird without you here. Even if all we do is fight."

"I know what you mean. It's kind of funny. I've only been gone for what, like six weeks? But I've missed you."

Claire laughed. "Maybe absence _does_ make the heart grow fonder."

Grace made a face. "I don't know....I haven't really missed Quil at all."

"I wish you'd give him a chance. You've known him for fourteen years. You know he's a good guy."

Grace shrugged. "Maybe I just don't think _any _guy is good enough for my little sister."

"He is good enough. I think I'm pretty lucky."

Grace gave Claire a small smile. "Yeah, I think you are." She took a deep breath. "Well, I better go help Sharon. She's going a little crazy down there with only one minion to boss around." She walked out, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Claire blew out a gusty breath and studied her reflection. What the hell was going on? That had been the first real conversation she and Grace had had in years. Maybe college was agreeing with her older sister. It felt weird though. Grace being….nice? Caring? Concerned? Claire shook her head and resumed putting on her lipstick. She suddenly wondered if her mother had put Grace up to this. That didn't make much sense though. Sharon knew that their relationship had been rocky at best the past few years. Well, Claire decided it didn't matter. No one - no matter how hard they tried, no matter how good their intentions - was going to change her mind.


	7. She's in Parties

**Chapter title taken from the song "She's in Parties" by Bauhaus from the album "Burning from the Inside".**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 30 12:14 PM**

Quil was ready to burst. He had been helping prepare for Claire's party all morning, but had barely seen the birthday girl herself. It was becoming pure torture just to be there, knowing she was around, but unable to see her, to hold her. He threw a stack of paper plates on a picnic table with a sigh. After he had helped set up the tables and chairs, Sharon had kept him busy all morning, frosting and stirring and carrying things all over God's green earth. He didn't understand how there could possibly be so much to do for one party. Most of the parties he had been to were set if there was a keg and a bowl of pretzels. It wasn't like this was that old show on MTV about all the spoiled girls and their super sweet sixteen's.

The back door of the house slammed open and Quil turned with a frown. If Sharon asked him to do anything else he was pretty sure one of them would be very sorry. But the person on the back porch wasn't Sharon. In fact he wasn't sure the goddess that stood there was even Claire. He couldn't help gaping as she slowly walked down the back steps towards him. Her dress was so short, he wasn't sure he could even in good conscience call it a dress. The bright blue material, the color of the ocean, stood out against her dark skin. She had left her hair loose, flowing around her shoulders and it shone in the sunlight spilling between the leaves of the tall trees along the side of the house.

"Hey there," She said softly as she approached him.

It took Quil a moment to form words before he could answer. "Hey," he managed around a large swallow.

"Well? What do you think?" Claire turned a small circle in front of him.

"What I'm thinking can't be said in polite company," Quil whispered.

Claire smiled. "I'll take that as an 'You look hot', which I already knew, but thanks for the affirmation."

Quil could only nod.

Claire glanced around the yard. "So, everything ready?"

Quil nodded again.

Claire gave him an amused look. "Cat got your tongue?"

Quil licked his lips. "All set," he squeaked.

"Good, people will be here any minute. I want everything to be ready. Were you able to-"

Claire was interrupted by Quil grasping her arm and pulling her close to him. He leaned over her and inhaled deeply.

Claire gave a short laugh. "Better take what you can get now. I'm going to be busy entertaining my guests all day."

"Screw your guests," Quil murmured into her ear.

"Oh I couldn't do that. It would be so impolite. I am the hostess after all. I can't be rude."

"Yes you can," Quil whispered harshly. He pulled her towards the side of the house, tucking her into a small nook beside the porch.

He pushed her up against the siding and pressed himself against her. He buried his nose in her neck, brushing up and down, his senses tingling from her scent.

"People are going to be here any minute," Claire whispered.

Quil whimpered. "No," he said, his tone petulant. He pulled her closer and tried to kiss her.

Claire turned her head to the side and his lips brushed against her cheek.

"Don't do this to me," he begged. "Not again."

Claire smiled. "Don't sulk. I just applied very expensive lipstick, I don't want it smudged."

"I'll buy you more. You owe me after ambushing me with Sharon this morning." Quil tried to capture her lips again.

Claire pushed his face away. "Ambushing you? What are you talking about?"

Quil ran his hands down the sides of Claire's dress, his fingers brushing against her thighs. "That whole safe sex lecture. I came over here to help and instead I'm stuck hearing Sharon talk about condoms."

"You did _not_ come over to help." Claire gave him a knowing smile. "You know what you came over for."

Quil nodded, his fingers trailing higher on her legs. He leaned towards her again.

"Claire!"

Sharon's voice called from the yard.

Claire grabbed Quil's hands and pulled them off her legs. She managed to maneuver out of his grasp despite his protests. "My people have arrived," she spoke in a grand voice.

Quil wrinkled his nose. "I hate your people," he snapped.

"CLAIRE!"

"COMING!" Claire turned to smile at Quil. "I better go before Sharon blows a gasket."

"Fine," Quil pouted. He suddenly gave her a stern look. "But this isn't over," he waved a finger between the two of them. "I expect some attention from you."

"Umm hello? It's _my_ birthday!"

Quil shrugged. "Don't care. You expect a gift from me? I expect to get a little action."

"Wow, that is just the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me," Claire rolled her eyes.

"CLAIRE!"

Claire began to walk towards the yard. "You going to stand back here pouting, or are you going to come see our friends?"

Quil gave her a haughty look. "If I must," he said snootily. He slowly walked up next to her.

Claire just laughed. She reached over and took Quil's hand. "Don't worry, the party isn't going to last _all _night."

Quil made a face. "It better not," he muttered.

They walked hand in hand towards the yard where the first party guests were trickling in. Quil looked up, hoping to see some of his pack mates so he wouldn't be forced to hang out with Claire's high school friends, when he suddenly stopped short. Claire, still attempting to walk forward was yanked back by his abrupt halt.

"Oww," Claire looked up at Quil. "What the hell, that really hurt."

Quil narrowed his eyes. "You didn't tell me you were inviting boys to this little soirée," he said through clenched teeth.

Claire gave him a strange look. "Why wouldn't I invite boys? They are my friends you know. And by the way a soirée is an evening party. This is a daytime extravaganza."

"You cannot hang out with boys dressed like this," Quil waved his free hand at her dress.

Claire pulled her hand from his. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I can't have you cavorting around in this teeny tiny dress with a bunch of high school guys hanging all over you." Quil gave her his best 'I'm serious' face.

"Okay first of all, you don't own me. I can wear whatever I want whenever I want and around whomever I choose. Secondly, have you looked in the mirror lately? I mean those guys know I'm with you. And despite your rugged good looks, you are pretty intimidating to a five ten high school boy. Besides are you actually worried I would be interested in one of them?"

Quil sighed. "I never said I owned you. And no I'm not worried about you being interested in anyone else. And yes I look in the mirror everyday. I am somewhat vain you know."

Claire laughed. "So what's the problem?"

"I don't like them looking at you. Not like how _I_ look at you. I want you to be for my eyes only," Quil said softly.

"Well honey, unless I go live in a cave, other people are going to see me everywhere I go and you are just going to have to learn to deal with that."

"Fine," Quil pouted. "But I won't like it."

"I didn't say you had to like it, I said you had to deal with it." Claire took his hand again. "Now come on, I have lusty high school boys to hang out with."

Quil frowned. "That's not funny," he muttered, but nevertheless he allowed Claire to lead him over to her friends.


	8. Dirty Hole

**Chapter title taken from the song "Dirty Hole" by VAST from the album "Visual Audio Sensory Theater"**

**BTW I implore you, if you have never listened to VAST, you should. Jon Crosby is a music God. I'm just saying.**

* * *

**Quil & Mindy: October 30 1:56 PM**

"Hey there, Quil."

Quil winced. If there was one voice that could grate on his nerves more than anyone's, it was the one that had just spoken to him. He turned and was face to face with Mindy Klein. His eyes flicked up and down taking in her tight black leather pants and white tank top. She was obviously not wearing a bra. It was really pretty sickening in Quil's opinion.

Quil tried to keep the sneer off his face. "Mindy," he spat. "Nice outfit. You going to your job at Hilda's House of Debauchery later?"

Mindy just smiled up at him. "So how are you?" She purred.

Quil cocked an eyebrow at her. "What are you kidding?"

Mindy gave him a shocked look. "What do you mean?"

Quil made a face. "Oh come on! How are you? What's that about?"

"I just wondered how you were doing, is that a crime?" Mindy pouted.

"I've known you almost six years now. You have never asked me how I'm doing." Quil narrowed his eyes at her. "Unless you have some you know….ulterior motive." He took a step away from her. "I'm not getting you guys beer."

Mindy laughed. "Oh, Quil, you're so funny," she put her hand on Quil's arm. "Wow, I never realized how….hot you were."

Quil looked down at her hand. "What's going on here?" he asked slowly.

"Nothing. God, I just came over for a friendly conversation…." she trailed her fingers up and down his arm.

"Could you not touch me," Quil said.

"Quil, you are so uptight," Mindy gave him a sultry look. "I could help you with that you know."

Quil barked out a laugh. "Yeah that's just what I need. And for the record, I'm not uptight. I just get uncomfortable when Satan's daughter touches me, that's all."

"Satan's daughter huh? So you think I'm devilish?" Mindy smiled. "Well you're right, I am a little bit of a devil."

"Oh I know that. I fully believe that if I were to cut your head off, an evil gargoyle would like, pop out and spew hellfire everywhere." Quil waved his arms in the air.

Mindy laughed again, and put her hand on Quil's bicep, giving it a small squeeze. "Nice definition. I like a strong man."

Quil shook his head. "Do you honestly think that's going to work? I'm with Claire. I have no interest in anyone else…..especially you."

"You're not even a little interested?"

Quil made a mock face of contemplation. "Let me think about it. Umm NO! In fact the very thought fills me with so much disgust and hate that I actually want to kick puppies."

"Hmm, well I have to say I'm a little surprised." Mindy tossed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder. "Most guys would die to have a chance with me."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not most guys." He made a shooing motion. "Now go away. Go find someone else to harass."

"You could do so much better than Claire you know?"

Quil glared at her. "There is no one, _no one_ better than Claire. And for someone who's supposed to be her best friend…..that's just low. So I give you two choices. Number one. You can walk away right now and we'll just pretend this whole conversation never happened. Or two. I can forcibly remove you from this yard right now. And I won't be gentle about it. Your call."

Mindy sneered. "You're a real prick you know that?"

"Go to hell, Mindy. Oh excuse me, I mean go back home."

Quil turned and stalked across the yard to the shade of the garage. He took deep breaths as he walked, trying to keep himself under control. As soon as he got a chance he was telling Claire she was done with that bitch. Quil knew there was a reason he had never liked Mindy, and their conversation had just confirmed it.

He leaned against the side of the garage and glanced across the lawn. He saw Claire talking with Julie, and couldn't keep from staring. He wondered when he was going to get a minute alone with her. She kept floating away from him, just dancing out of his grasp. He wondered why now, when they were allowed to be closer than ever before, he felt like they had never been further apart.


	9. Army of Me

**Chapter title taken from the song "Army of Me" by Björk from the album "Post".**

* * *

**Claire & Julie: October 30 2:09 PM**

Hey! I'm so glad you guys made it." Claire ran over to greet Julie and Seth.

"Well after I had an emotional breakdown over finding something to wear, Seth managed to get me in the car and drag my butt here. Sorry we're late. Happy Birthday."

Claire laughed and gave Julie a hug. "It's totally fine. And you look great by the way."

"That's what I told her," Seth informed Claire. "She wouldn't listen to me."

"That's because you tell me I look great when I'm wearing sweatpants and a ponytail. I can't trust your judgment at all. And ps great dress." Julie looked Claire up and down. "Very hot."

Claire gave a mock curtsey. "It's fab isn't it? Bebe. I think I'm going to have to convince Quil to get very high paying job to keep up with my wardrobe." Claire smiled, then glanced across the lawn at where Mindy was fawning over Quil and her smile faded. It made her sick to look at it. She was going to have to seriously reconsider her friendship with Mindy.

Julie noticed where Claire was gazing and patted Seth on the arm. "Honey, could you get me a bottle of water?"

"No problem," Seth smiled. He kissed Julie's forehead, then turned to Claire. "Can I get you anything Birthday girl?"

"No, I'm fine," Claire said. "Thanks though."

Seth took off towards the picnic tables. When he was out of earshot, Julie turned to Claire. "So who's the tramp?" She asked.

"Ugh, Mindy Klein. She's supposed to be my best friend, but do you see this? I mean she's always telling me how I can do so much better than Quil, but there she is, trying to put her slutty hands all over him."

"Mindy, huh. Yeah, sounds like a sluts name. I hate her already," Julie said. She glanced back over at Quil and Mindy. "Looks like he's taking care of it."

"He better or he'll be very sorry. If he even entertains the notion of touching one strand of hair on her head…." Claire glowered.

Julie laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that. That man is so in love with you he can't think straight."

Claire smiled. "Yeah, I know. We're pretty lucky huh?"

Julie glanced at Seth who was returning with her bottle of water. "Yeah, we are."

"So, have you guys thought of a name for that baby yet?" Claire reached forward, then paused. "Do you mind?"

Julie shook her head. "No, go for it. I'm just glad someone asked for once," She said as Claire put her hand on Julie's stomach. "As for the name, we're going to name him after Seth's father and Jake. He'll be Harold Jacob Kosten-Clearwater."

"That's a mouthful," Claire said. "Jake will be happy though."

"Hey, here's your water." Seth reached them and handed Julie the water bottle.

"Thank you," Julie gave Seth a quick kiss. "You're an angel."

"Really? I thought I was a sadistic bastard who made your life a living hell," Seth laughed.

Claire made a face. "That's pretty harsh."

"I was having a very bad morning," Julie snapped. "You know I didn't mean it."

"I know. I'm just adding it to the 'things Julie said but didn't really mean' kitty. I figure I'll be owed like, huge."

"Remind me to never get pregnant," Claire said.

"Well you might want to remind someone else about that. If looks could well…..do naughty things, you'd be joining me in misery," Julie pointed at Quil who was leaning against the side of the garage, his eyes fixed on Claire.

Seth groaned. "I'm leaving now. I do not even want to think about that whole scenario." He spied Embry and Kate across the lawn and took off in their direction.

Claire smiled. "And I can't help myself, I am being so mean to him."

"Mean?" Julie questioned.

"Not mean, just…..teasing him a little. I think he's ready to kill me."

Julie laughed. "Playing the power position, huh?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of fun, although I can honestly say, he's lucky I've learned to control myself around him some what. Otherwise we'd be going at it on one of these picnic tables." She leaned in closer to Julie and whispered. "Want to hear a secret?"

"Sure, I love a good secret."

"I'm going to sleep with him tonight," Claire informed her.

Julie pulled back. "Oh….umm, honey are you sure about that?"

Claire furrowed her eyebrows. "Why does everyone keep asking me that. Yes I'm sure. I mean God, I'm not a little kid anymore."

Julie held up her hands. "I know, I know. I'm not your mother, I have no right to tell you what to do. Just….it's a big deal, you know? I want you to be careful."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Everyone acts like if I do this I'm going to be one of those girls who gets their heart broken. But I'm not. It's Quil. He's stuck with me forever. You should know. I mean Seth is going to be with you forever. It's the same thing."

Julie gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I guess he is. But either way, you don't have to rush things. It's like you said, you're together forever. You don't have to be in such a hurry to grow up."

Claire shook her head. "You know it's funny. When I try to be grown up, everyone treats me like a child. And when they think I'm being childish, they tell me to grow up. You adults need to make up your minds."

Julie laughed. "Honey, sometimes we're just as screwed up as you kids are."

"I don't doubt that," Claire said.

"Well listen, you go be with your friends. I see Embry brought Kate with him and we've been talking babies. She's a good listener and I'm in the mood to complain."

"Have fun with that," Claire laughed. "I have to go bitch slap Mindy Klein for touching my boyfriend."

"Now that sounds like fun, I think I'll go snag a front row seat. I haven't seen a good bitch slapping in years."

Claire smiled and put her arm around Julie's shoulders. "Then you are in for a treat," she said.

"CLAIRE!"

Claire turned and saw Sharon waving her over to where she stood with Mr. Ortecho, Grace, Sam and Emily. "Ugh. Emily has the camera. That means it's time for family pictures. Sorry, I guess the bitch slapping has to wait."

Julie shrugged. "Oh well. I'm probably too old for catfights anyway."


	10. That's Why They Call It A Union

**Sorry guys I didn't write the catfight. However I imagine it went something like this:**

"You're a bitch."

"No you're a bitch."

"You're a slut."

"No you're a slut."

**excetra.**

**Hope you aren't too dissapointed :)**

**Chapter title taken from the song "That's Why They Call It A Union" by Less Than Jake from the album "Anthem"**

* * *

**Quil, Seth & Embry: October 30 3:56 PM**

"Quil, hey," Seth jogged up to join Quil in the shade of the garage. "What are you doing hiding over here?"

Quil frowned. "I'm reflecting on my miserable life. And where the hell have you been? You were like two hours late."

"Sorry. I couldn't get Julie out of the house. She was having some issues finding an outfit."

Embry strode up to them. "She better pop that kid out really soon." He glanced back over his shoulder. "It's making her very unpleasant."

Seth frowned and punched Embry on the arm. "That's my girlfriend and my child you're talking about."

Embry rubbed his arm. "Yeah it is. When are you going to make an honest woman out of Julie anyway?"

"At this rate, never," Seth said with a sigh.

"She still won't budge, huh?" Quil shook his head.

"Nope. I've tried begging, pleading, fighting, reasoning. Nothing works. She says she just got finished with a messy divorce and won't even consider the possibility of getting married again right now."

"Not even with the baby and all?"

"No."

Quil sighed. "That sucks man. I'm sorry."

Seth made a face. "It wouldn't be so bad if she would even consider moving in together. But she doesn't want to move here-"

"That's just as well I don't want to share my house with your girlfriend and some screamy baby," Embry interrupted.

"My house," Quil corrected.

"Morons, we would get our own place! Anyway like I said it doesn't matter because she doesn't want to move to La Push because of her job, and I really can't move to Port Angeles because of the pack."

Embry scratched his neck. "Have you thought about…..you know….leaving the pack? I mean Jared and Paul did."

Quil started at Embry's question. That was twice today that someone brought up Jared and Paul leaving the pack. He leaned closer, very curious as to what Seth's answer would be.

"I told her I would. For her and the baby, but she says no. Says she knows how much I love it and doesn't want to be the cause of me giving up something I love. I told her that I love her and our baby more than anything in the world but…." Seth shrugged helplessly. "We're kind of at a standstill. I mean once the baby's born, I don't want to be an hour and a half away all the time. Something's going to have to give."

"Maybe she'll change her mind once the baby's here." Quil tried to sound hopeful.

"Maybe," Seth sighed. "The thing is, I think she's scared. Her ex screwed her royally. I mean the mental abuse he put her and her daughters through aside, he made the whole divorce a nightmare especially after he found out Julie was pregnant. He's lucky Julie wouldn't let me go to the court date. I don't know if I would have been able to control myself."

Quil nodded. "Yeah from what Julie's told me he's a real ass."

"Since you brought up asses," Embry began. "What's with you and that little piece of ass over there?" He jerked his thumb at Mindy.

Quil glanced over to see Claire and Mindy in a heated conversation. "Who, Mindy 'That Girl is Poison' Klein? She came on to me! I told her to back off."

Embry sized her up. "She's a little trampy, not that I mind that. Did you notice she's not wearing a bra?" Embry gave an appreciative nod. "She available?"

Quil gave Embry a disgusted look. "Dude, you have a girlfriend. Plus she's a little young for you."

Embry rubbed his head. "I was joking first of all and secondly isn't she the same age as _your_ girlfriend?"

"Totally different," Quil stated firmly.

"You imprints and your excuses," Embry smiled. "Well, no matter it looks like your girlfriend is escorting her off the property." Embry laughed. "Boy, Claire looks pissed. It's kind of funny. Speaking of girlfriends, where's mine?" He glanced around.

Seth pointed. "Talking to Julie," he said.

Embry's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no Seth I told you to keep Julie away from Kate. She's all excited about this baby thing. I don't want her to get any ideas." He turned and hustled towards Kate and Julie.

Seth laughed. "Amazing, isn't he?"

"The only thing I'm amazed about is that Kate has stuck with him this long," Quil took a deep breath. "So you would really leave? Leave the pack for Julie?"

Seth nodded. "Of course I would. I mean I love the pack but…..Julie and this baby? They are my _life. _I would do anything she asked."

Quil smiled. "You're a good guy, Seth. I admire you, you know?"

Seth ducked his head shyly. "Thanks. Right back at ya."

"Although I guess neither of us really has a choice, with the imprinting and all," Quil mused.

"Well I think we do have choices, just that they're sometimes hard."

Quil nodded. "That they are." He suddenly frowned when he saw Claire storming away from Mindy. "I better go talk to her," he told Seth.

Seth waved his hand. "Yeah, go, go."

Quil took a deep breath, prayed Claire wasn't pissed at him and took off after his disgruntled girlfriend.


	11. All Alright

**Chapter title taken from the song "All Alright" by Sigur Rós** **from the album "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" **

**FYI Sigur Rós** **an amazing band from Iceland and you should check out their albums (Takk is the best one IMO). In fact every song/band I mention you should check out because they are all stuff on my Ipod and since I love them, that means everyone else should too :)**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 30 4:03 PM**

"Claire, hey Claire wait up!" Quil jogged up and grabbed Claire's arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

Claire made a face. "I'm just dandy."

Quil stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. "I saw you fighting with Mindy."

"Who? Oh you mean Slutty McSlut? Yeah we've decided to part ways as friends."

Quil looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Why, it wasn't your fault. I saw her making an ass of herself all over you. Friends don't make a move on another friends guy. It's totally against the code."

"Well I can't say I'm upset that she's gone. She wasn't a very good friend to you. I'm sorry you had to deal with her on your birthday though. I was going to talk to you about it, but I saw Emily going all wild Vegas style with her camera so…."

"Yeah, family photo time. That was fun," Claire said sarcasm lacing her words.

"I know a way to cheer you up," Quil informed her.

"You do, huh?"

Quil nodded vehemently. "Yes. It's called 'making out with your boyfriend'. It's highly therapeutic. Five out of five doctors recommend it."

Claire studied his face for a moment. "Getting desperate, huh?"

"God yes, please. I just want a minute of your time. No scratch that I'd like several minutes of your time." He reached over and pulled Claire to him. "Kissing is the best medicine."

"I thought laughter was the best medicine," Claire said.

"No, no it's not." He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck. "Kissing is," he breathed into her ear.

Claire grinned. "Okay buddy, but you only get one minute. Then I have to get back to my friends."

"I'll take it," Quil straightened up, looked around quickly and then hurriedly pulled Claire into a small group of trees near the garage. He looked around again to ensure they were hidden from view, then finally, thankfully crushed his lips against hers. His mouth was hot and demanding. He moaned deep in his chest from the feel of her tongue against his. It had been to long and he felt his desperation building up, bubbling in his chest, threatening to burst to the surface. He pushed Claire against a tree trunk and wedged his thigh between her legs, his hands gripping fistfuls of her dress. He felt Claire trying to push him away, and growled, refusing to let her go.

Claire managed to pull her lips from his, but not to be discouraged he attacked her neck, nipping at her shoulder when she tried again to push him away.

"Quil," Claire gasped. "Your minute is up."

"No," he snapped. He kissed her again, and she let him, her hands gripping the collar of his tee shirt.

When his lungs felt like they would burst from lack of air, he reluctantly broke the kiss. Claire took the opportunity to push him away.

"I have to get back, people will start to wonder where we are."

"I don't care," Quil pouted.

Claire smoothed her dress and ran her hands through her hair. "Well I do. I said a minute and I meant it. Now I _have_ to get back."

"Claire," Quil whined. "I need more than a minute. I need you."

Claire placed her palm on Quil's cheek and he closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

"I know you do," she said quietly. "But now isn't the time. I promise, as soon as the party is over we can be together for as long as you want."

"Do you really promise?" Quil opened his eyes, his tone pleading.

"Yes. I really promise." Claire fixed her dress one last time. "Now how do I look?"

"Amazing, breathtaking, spectacular."

"I don't want to know what _you _think. I need to be concerned about the population at large. Do I look like I was just mauled?"

Quil made a face. "I didn't maul you," he replied indignantly.

Claire raised her eyebrows.

"Okay fine, I mauled a little, but you've been asking for it," Quil said sulkily. "And no you don't look mauled. A little flushed but otherwise, perfect."

Claire smiled. "All right. I'm heading back." She turned and walked slowly away from him, heading back towards the party.

Once she was gone, Quil groaned and collapsed forward against the tree. He made a weak fist and hit the trunk. "God damn it," he muttered. He stood up, looked down and cursed. He made a face and slid down to the ground. "Old people smell, any one of the pack naked, that time you hit a deer with your car and had to finish it off with a tire iron." He glanced down at his lap again and smiled. "Seth is such a genius," he laughed.

He stood up, brushed off the seat of his jeans and made his way back to the party.


	12. Could It Be Any Harder

**Chapter title taken from the song "Could It Be Any Harder" by The Calling from the album "Camino Palmero"**

* * *

**Quil & Julie: October 30 5:41 PM**

"Hey, how are you doing?" Quil walked over to where Julie sat on a picnic table bench, her shoes kicked off, her feet resting in a small tub of water.

Julie looked up at him. "I'm fat and pregnant. That's how I'm doing."

Quil bit his lip. "Umm, sorry?"

Julie shook her head. "It's not your fault." She glared across the lawn at Seth's back.

Quil smiled and climbed up to sit on the picnic table. "Want me to kick his ass for you?" He jerked his head at Seth.

Julie sighed. "No. He's trying so hard. Being so sweet. I mean look at this he brought me a tub of water for my feet. I've really been pretty wretched to him."

"It's Seth. Nothing keeps him down. He is so excited about this baby. You should hear him talk about it." Quil smiled and looked at Seth again. "He is going to be a great father."

"I know he is." Julie put her hands on her stomach and smiled. "I wish my girls could have been as lucky as this little boy is going to be. Although I'm still not entirely convinced he didn't knock me up just to get me to quit smoking."

At that moment Seth turned and gave Julie a questioning look. _You need anything_ he mouthed_._

Julie shook her head and blew him a kiss. "I'm fine," she called.

Quil looked over at Julie. His face turned serious. "You should marry him," he said simply.

Julie gave a knowing nod. "Did he ask you to campaign for him?"

Quil shook his head. "No. I'm doing this all on my own. He's a good guy. He deserves to be happy. You and this baby make him happy. I mean," Quil spread his arms wide. "La Push isn't that bad."

Julie nodded. "It's okay," she said reluctantly.

"Well you know, it's not the end of the world…..but you can see it from here."

Julie laughed. "It's not that. I love Seth, I do, please don't think I don't. And even with all the bitching I've been doing, I'm really glad we're having this baby together. But Quil, you know how hard this last year has been with Scott and the whole divorce. I'm not quite ready to fully put my heart out there again. Can you understand that?"

Quil nodded. "I know all about putting your heart out there and getting it squashed into a bloody pulp all over the ground."

"Are you sure it's your heart you're talking about?"

Quil shrugged. "She's driving me crazy." He waved his hand at Claire who stood with a group of her friends. "I mean look at her. Standing there looking all hot, with her hair all loose and down like I like it, and that dress!" Quil gave a low moan. "I mean who invented that?"

"Bebe," Julie informed him.

Quil snorted. "Sadistic mother whoever she is. Could it cover any less? I'm seriously about to spontaneously combust. I have been so good for a year. A year! Do you know how hard that was? She just kept getting hotter and hotter and I couldn't touch her. And now....now I'm allowed to touch her. And she just keeps flitting away...tra la la la la without a care in the world. I think she knows I'm about to blow a fuse. That's why she's doing it. You women, you're all cruel."

Julie grabbed Quil's chin with her hand and turned his head to face her. "Girlfriend, I know we've bonded this past year, but you are talking to a woman who has gained thirty pounds in seven months. I'm fat. I'm uncomfortable. I have hemorrhoids. I haven't seen my own feet in two months. I really, really don't need to hear about how hot your teenage girlfriend is, okay? I mean I love you, but have some respect for an old pregnant lady, please?"

"Sorry," Quil muttered. He dropped his eyes and stared at his shoes. "I can't help it. This has pretty much been fourteen years, minus a couple of slips, in the making."

Julie patted his knee. "Don't worry. She's just playing hard to get. Trust me when I say, she's about to burst too."

She saw Seth looking at them again and motioned him over.

"And by the way, stay away from that Mindy Klein. She is a total tramp."

Quil held up his hands. "She started it," he defended himself. "And she's not just a tramp. She is evil incarnate. Besides Claire took care of the situation anyway."

Julie laughed. "I know, although I have to admit I'm sad there was no catfight involved."

"What catfight?" Seth asked as he walked up.

Julie smiled at him. "Nothing honey." She held out her hands to Seth. "Help me up, I've got to go to the bathroom."

Quil watched as Seth helped Julie up and walked with her towards the house. With a sigh, he turned to look at Claire again. "Now what?" He muttered when he saw her and her friends clustered around the Ipod hook up. "No, no this just isn't fair. Like I'm not suffering enough?"

He watched intensely as Claire and her friends began to dance. He tried to tear his eyes away from Claire's gyrating body, but he couldn't. So he sat, eyes glazed and watched his temptress dance in the last rays of the evening sun.


	13. Perfect Games

**Chapter title taken from the song "Perfect Games" by The Broken West from the album "Now or Heaven"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 30 6:35 PM**

"Is he watching?" Claire asked her friend softly as she glanced over her shoulder.

Savannah glanced over her shoulder. "Ohhh yeah."

Claire grinned. "Does he look totally turned on?"

Savannah made a face. "Honey, if he was a cartoon character, his eyes would be popping five feet out from his face, his tongue would be unrolled across the grass and there would be all that white foamy drool everywhere."

Claire peeked through her hair at where Quil sat on top of the picnic table, his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes were glued to her. It didn't even look like he was blinking. She looked back at Savannah. "Oh yeah, he's putty. I'm going over there."

Claire began a slow dance over to Quil, swaying side to side. He sat up as she approached. Once Claire reached him she gave a small wiggle and threw her hair back with a flourish. She leaned in close, resting her hands on his knees, her lips touching his ear and whispered. "You enjoying the show?"

"You are lucky there are a lot of witnesses around," Quil said through gritted teeth. "Otherwise, you would be in big trouble."

"Oh I would, would I?" Claire nipped his earlobe with her teeth.

Quil growled low and deep in his chest. "Don't start something you're not going to finish," he told her.

"Who says I'm not going to finish?"

Quil closed his eyes. "Okay, that's it." He jumped off the picnic table, grabbed Claire's wrist and dragged her towards the house.

He saw Seth start to wave them over, and made a negative gesture. "Claire and I have to talk about something really quick. We'll be right back."

"I don't think we're going to see them for a while," he heard Seth mutter.

"Quil, where are we going?" Claire asked as she stumbled in Quil's wake.

Quil didn't respond. He pulled Claire around to the side of the house and came to an abrupt halt. He spun around, pushed her up against the side of the house and eyed her up and down.

"Quil you-" Claire's words were broken off as Quil attacked her lips. His hands pulled her closer, one of them reaching down the back of her thigh, jerking her leg up around his hip. He pushed himself against her and groaned into her mouth.

"QUIL!"

Quil broke the kiss and dropped Claire's leg, collapsing against her. "Fuck!" he barked.

"Quil I know you're back here, I just saw you walk by!" Embry's voice got closer as he moved nearer to the house.

"Shhhh," Quil whispered. "If we're really quiet he'll go away."

"There you guys are," Embry came around the side of the house.

Quil gave him a withering stare. "Embry do you need something, or did you just sense that I was experiencing some actual happiness and rush right on over to squash my spirit."

Embry frowned. "No. But message received." He turned and stalked back around the side of the house.

Quil sighed. "Great," he muttered. He looked down at Claire. "Now where were we," he whispered, pulling her against him.

"Nice try," Claire said, wriggling out of his grasp. "But you aren't hooking me in that easily."

"Damn it Claire, you can't keep doing this to me," Quil snapped.

Claire threw her arms in the air. "Doing what? What am I doing?"

"Running away from me. I can't take it anymore." Quil ran his hands over his hair, clasped his palms together and cupped the back of his head.

"I'm not running away from you!"

"Yes you are! I've barely had two minutes with you all day. I'm going crazy over here." Quil dropped his arms to his sides.

"Quil, I have a yard full of family and friends here. I realize we haven't had a lot of time together today, and yes, maybe I've been teasing you a little-"

"A little?" Quil snorted.

"All right. I'm sorry, okay? But I told you that I'm all yours tonight. As soon as everyone goes home, I promise you'll get your Claire time."

"Can't you just send them all home. Now?" He stomped his foot to emphasize his point.

Claire's lips twitched. "Did you just…..did you just stomp your foot at me?"

"No," Quil pouted.

"Yes you did. You just stomped your foot like a big baby," Claire giggled.

"I am not a big baby."

"What are you kidding? Look at that pout." Claire reached up and squeezed the sides of his lips together.

Quil frowned and jerked his face from her grasp. "I'm not pouting. I just……" he trailed off.

Claire grinned. "Here, how about I give you a little something to tide you over?"

"Like what?" Quil asked, an interested look on his face.

"Well, like this." Claire looked around, then reached up and slipped her fingers under the straps of her dress and pulled the top down, then up in one smooth motion.

Quil blinked a few times. "Ummmm," he tried to say something but suddenly all coherent thought had fled his mind.

Claire smiled at him. "That is correct, I did in fact remove my bra a little earlier. It was getting awfully itchy," she said in an innocent tone.

Quil nodded slowly.

Claire took a deep breath. "Well, I have party guests to entertain so if you'll excuse me." She turned, a satisfied grin on her face, and with a bouncy air to her walk, disappeared around the side of the house.

Quil stared after her a moment. Suddenly he narrowed his eyes. "Damn it," he snapped. "She just did it again!"


	14. Wicked Sensitive Crew

**Okay again if you'll allow me to just vent again here. My horse is an ASS! I spent three hours this morning body clipping him (which granted if I had clipped him a few weeks ago it wouldn't have taken that long to do) because he was resembling a wooly mammoth rather than a horse. THEN I go to ride, but oh no his hock is all puffy and sore and he just has to limp, limp, limp because he's a big pussy. So I get off and put him in the outdoor arena to see if maybe he works out of the soreness. What does he do? RUN RUN RUN BUCK BUCK BUCK and not little bucks either, but huge, my back feet are actually over my head bucks. I'm like 'glad to see your hock isn't a problem when I'm not riding you ASS' So then he finds the only mud puddle and proceeds to roll in it so that when he gets up he and his freshly laundered sheet are DRIPPING WITH MUD!! He's flipping lucky it's pretty warm today (yeah last week it's 30 and snowing today it's almost 70 and sunny....you know the old saying, if you don't like the weather in Ohio wait five minutes). So alas my horse looks like a disgusting pig and I had to hose him down, walk him with his cooler till he dried and then put on a heavier stable blanket because his flipping sheet is caked with mud. AND THAT WAS MY MORNING. Okay I'm done.**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Wicked Sensitive Crew" by Dropkick Murphys from the album "The Warrior's Code".**

* * *

**Quil, Seth, Embry & Jacob: October 30 7:04 PM**

"Oh my God, I am seriously going to lose it." Quil stormed up to Seth. "Let's go get a drink. I definitely need one today."

Seth glanced over at Quil. "Uh-oh. I know that tone. Claire trouble? I would think, you know with today being _the day _and all…."

"Right?! I don't get it. I mean she's turning into a tease now? A year ago I had to pry her off of me and now I can barely get my hands on her."

Seth shrugged. "Maybe she's a little overwhelmed by the whole idea of you guys finally getting to be together," he said.

"Maybe," Quil sighed. "All I know is that I am so hard up right now, I'd be willing to sleep with you."

Seth gave Quil a sympathetic look. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but I have a girlfriend."

"You know I am really hurt right now," Embry's voice piped up from behind them.

Quil and Seth both turned around to face him. "What the hell are you talking about?" Quil asked.

"You'd choose to sleep with Seth over me? What's wrong with you? We're supposed to be best friends."

"Embry, I would choose you but…..I mean I know you. I'd get all attached and then you'd never call me. I couldn't handle that kind of rejection." Quil gave Embry a pitiful look.

"Screw you man, I would totally call you," Embry snapped.

Quil threw his hands in the air. "All right fine, I'd sleep with you."

Embry shook his head. "No, you can't just change your answer like that. You said you'd rather sleep with Seth than me."

Quil gave him a strange look. "Dude, it was hypothetical. And I said I'd sleep with you."

"You're full of it. You changed your answer. It doesn't count."

"Does it even matter?"

"It does, it totally does because it's coming from a completely false place. You just said it to placate me, which I don't appreciate by the way."

"Why are you so upset about this?" Quil was getting very confused. "You do realize that I'm not _really_ going to sleep with you, right?"

"That's not the point," Embry snapped.

"Well what the hell is the point then?"

"The point is that you are assassinating my character. I mean I'm not emotionally retarded. I have feelings you know." Embry pouted.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sure you would call me and I would choose you over Seth. Are you happy now?"

Embry gave a satisfied nod. "I'm glad you came around. Now, did someone say something about drinks? I'm totally parched." He turned and headed for the coolers.

Quil and Seth looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Only Embry," Quil said. "Now I _really_ need a drink."

They started to follow Embry, when Jacob walked up to them.

"What's up motha-fuckahs," Jacob said jovially.

"Now where the hell have you been? I mean Seth was late but you're just plain tardy." Quil scolded.

"Sorry, I know, I was dealing with a Charlie thing."

Quil and Seth both nodded. "How is he doing anyway?" Quil asked.

Jacob shrugged. "Okay. He's not loving retirement. I think he gets really bored. He's talking about going to visit with Bella and Edward again. He hasn't been to see them in about a year or so."

"Well then he should go. Where's your wife by the way?" Quil glanced around.

Jacob jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Giving the birthday girl her regards."

"Good, good." Quil's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, maybe she can work the whammy on Claire. You know, show her why she loves me and is supposed to not torture me."

"Umm, I don't think Nessie is going to approve of showing Claire memories just so you can get lucky," Seth said.

"Well what the hell is she good for then?" Quil snapped.

"I'll remind you that you are talking about my wife," Jacob said. "And that being said, remember. Mean people suck."

Quil made a face. "Yeah, hey Jake, the nineties called. They want their lingo back."

"You are really frustrated, aren't you?" Jacob gave Quil an amused look.

"Dude, she is driving me crazy. And to top it off I just had to spend ten minutes reassuring Embry that I would sleep with him over Seth, given the choice."

Jacob frowned. "I don't even want to know what the hell that's all about."

Quil sighed. "Just forget it."

"GUYS!" Embry was waving spastically from across the yard. "I THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING DRINKS!"

Quil shook his head. "We better go over there. He's feeling very fragile today. He has feelings you know."

The three of them walked over to join Embry.

"What the hell were you guys doing?" Embry gave them all a narrowed eyed look. "Were you talking about me?"

"No we weren't talking about you," Jacob assured him. "I mean the world doesn't revolve around you."

"That's right, it revolves around Quil," Seth said.

Quil nodded. "That is true," he agreed.

Embry grabbed three beers and passed them out.

They stood drinking in silence for a moment when Julie walked up.

"Seth, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Seth nodded. "Sure," he followed Julie away from the group.

Embry watched their progress for a moment, then shook his head and turned to Quil and Jacob. "That's never good."

Quil frowned. "What's never good?"

Embry patted Quil on the shoulder. "You wouldn't understand seeing as how your girlfriend hasn't lived long enough to perfect the art of 'can I talk to you'. See when a women says she wants to talk to you it's never good. She never says 'hey I thought about it and yes I would love to have a threesome with that hot chick you saw at the bar the other night' or 'you are so right a morning blow job _is _the perfect way to start the day'. It's always some crap about feelings or problems or stuff that you're doing that pisses her off."

"Interesting," Quil said. He sipped his beer, then looked over at Claire. "It looks like they're finally going to do presents. We better head over. I can't wait till Claire sees what I got her."

"What'd you get her?" Embry asked.

Quil just gave him a smug smile.

"He got her a car," Jacob said.

"No shit," Embry gave Quil an impressed look. "How'd you afford that?"

"He bought a Civic that was totaled and got this gullible friend of his to slave over it with him for the last few weeks to fix it up," Jacob replied.

"Oh, that silver one you've had in your head? Nice. I didn't know that was for Claire. I thought you were going to resell it. Well played my friend. If that doesn't part the proverbial 'waters' I don't know what will."

Quil smacked Embry on the head. "Shut the fuck up man."

"Jesus," Embry rubbed his head. "You know you're very violent when you're sexually frustrated."

"Can we please just go over there?" Quil abruptly turned and made his way towards Claire.


	15. Blue

**Chapter title taken from the song "Blue" by The Birthday Massacre from the album "Violet"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire and Quil & Sam: October 30 8:28 PM**

After the admiring crowd around Claire's new car had dispersed, Claire turned to Quil, a huge grin on her face.

"I can't believe you bought me a car!"

"Believe it baby," Quil said smugly.

"Wow, this is amazing! You're amazing," Claire ran her hand over the hood of the Civic. "Wow," she said again.

Quil gave a mock shy shrug. "Well, I don't like to brag, but…yeah I'm pretty much the best boyfriend ever_. Ever_," he emphasized. "I am now officially the king of boyfriends. I should get like, a medal or something."

Claire nodded her head. "You are. You are the king of boyfriends." She turned and gave him a coy look. "However can I show you my appreciation?"

Quil rubbed his chin with his fingers. "Well, I'm plagued by your philosophical question. However _can_ you show your appreciation?"

Claire moved forward and reached up to wrap her arms around Quil's neck. "I could show you…..physically," she said quietly.

Quil pulled her close against him. "That is a capital idea," he told her.

"In fact," Claire moved her arms from around his neck and ran her hands down his chest. "I could probably show you right now."

Quil smiled down at her. "Fantastic," he said. He walked her backwards until she was pushed up against the side of the car.

Claire looked over her shoulder into the car's window. "I see it's a stick. I don't know how to drive stick."

"I'll teach you," Quil whispered into her ear.

"You want to teach me how to drive your stick?" Claire asked with feigned innocence.

Quil nodded against her neck. "You have no idea," he murmured.

"Quil."

Quil groaned and pretended to sob into Claire's neck. "Why? God why?" He pulled away from her and turned to glare at Sam.

"Sam," he said through clenched teeth.

Sam nodded. "Quil I've been meaning to have a word with you. Can I have a minute?"

Quil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he looked down at Claire. "Unbelievable," he muttered.

Claire gave a helpless shrug. "To be continued," she said.

Quil gave a small whimper. He leaned down and lightly pressed his lips against hers.

"Quil, are you coming?"

Quil pulled away from Claire. "Well apparently not," he said under his breath.

Claire snorted. "Just go talk to him. I'll see you in a little while."

Quil rolled his eyes, but turned and walked towards Sam. "What?" He asked.

Sam motioned with his hand. "Let's go over here." He turned and led Quil behind the garage.

When they stopped, Sam turned and regarded Quil.

Quil shifted his weight back and forth between his feet for a moment. When Sam didn't speak he frowned. "What!?" He snapped.

Sam made a face. "What's with the attitude? I just want to talk to you for a minute."

"So talk," Quil said hotly.

"Would you calm down? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just…..nothing. What do you want to talk about?" Quil said, his tone resigned.

"I wanted to talk to you about what Ryan and I were speaking about earlier, when he came to pick up the tables. About the whole phasing thing." Sam gave Quil a serious look. "This is going to be a hard decision to make. You need to really think about it. What it will do to you physically, psychologically-"

Quil held up his hands in protest. "Please spare me the psychobabble bullshit. I really can't take it today."

"Okay, you need to check the attitude right now," Sam growled.

"Well what do you people want from me?" Quil snapped.

"I'm confused, what are you talking about?"

"You, Sharon, Mr. O., all of you in my face all day long, talking, talking, talking. It's giving me a headache."

"Just chill out-"

"How can I chill out!?" Quil shouted. "Every time I turn around there's someone I have to answer to. So I ask again, what do you people want from me?!"

"Can you just explain what you mean?" Sam asked.

"Don't have sex, oh but if you do wear a condom, if you don't wear a condom I'll hunt you down, oh and stop phasing, but not today but think about it. I just, I can't take it. It's all too much! It's like my life isn't even MY life anymore!"

Sam took a deep breath. "Well," he said slowly. "What do _you _want?" he asked.

Quil threw his arms helplessly into the air. "I just want everybody to be fucking happy!"

Sam nodded. "Okay, well if you want everyone to be happy, maybe you need to grow up a little and start thinking about your future."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Well thanks very much Agent Uley with the Federal Bureau of I Already Knew That!"

Sam shook his head. "See that kind of smart ass comment just makes you look immature."

"Well, I really don't care. I mean you people need to take the special Quil patrol off speed dial. I don't need a lecture every time I turn around. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a little kid. I can make my own decisions. I don't need everyone telling me how to live! In case you people have all missed it, I am an adult. Maturity aside, I know what I want. And I'm going to do what I want to do. And for your information, I don't feel the need to clear my every action with _you_ of all people."

Sam sighed. "Quil, I'm just trying to look out for you. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life."

Quil made a face. "Then why are we having this conversation?" He asked quietly.

Sam scratched his head. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you want to talk, okay? That's all."

"Noted," Quil said, his word having a tone of finality.

"Okay. I'm sorry if it seemed like we were ganging up on you, that wasn't my intention and I'm sure it wasn't Sharon's or Ryan's either."

Quil shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"Well, okay I'll leave you alone." Sam turned and walked away.

Quil leaned against the garage. He scrubbed his face with his hands and sighed. This was turning into a really horrible day. He should have known how it was going to go the minute he woke up that morning and Claire had left him hanging. For not the first time, he wished he could fast forward time and skip the rest of Claire's birthday.

After he collected his thoughts, Quil walked from behind the garage.

"Claire I-" Quil stopped when he realized Claire was no longer standing by her car. Quil shook his head. "Fan-fucking-tastic," he muttered.


	16. Nostalgia

**Pinkshirt......3 o'clock after school by the flagpole. HA! I laughed so hard I cried. That's all I'm saying. And after I cried I snorted about it for like an hour!**

**PS Everyone miracles do happen. The gas station down the street from my house has gas for 1.99. I never thought I'd see that again!**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Nostaliga" by Archers of Loaf from the album "Vee Vee"**

* * *

**Quil, Jacob, Embry & Seth: October 30 9:42 PM**

Embry sighed and sipped his beer. This party was dragging. And it was also pretty damn boring. No naughty girls flashing, no drunken idiots making fools of themselves. It really one of the lamest parties he had been to in quite some time. He glanced at Quil, who naturally was staring at Claire. Embry's eyes suddenly lit up and he got an evil grin on his face. He leaned over and patted Quil on the arm.

"Hey, hey, you remember that time-"

Quil jerked out of his reverie and groaned. "No, please no, we are _not _going to do the whole 'remember that time' thing."

Jacob smiled. "But why ever not, Quil. We all love 'remember that time'."

Seth laughed. "I have to agree. I love 'remember that time'."

Embry beamed. "See. Everyone wants to do 'remember that time'."

"That's because you guys only do 'remember that time' to me! How come none of you have 'remember that time' stories?"

"Well, because Quil," Jacob spoke as though talking to a small child. "You're the only one who manages to get himself into the most embarrassing situations that constitute us even having 'remember that time' times."

"I beg to differ. You have _all_ done stupid things." Quil gave them all pointed looks.

Embry somberly shook his head. "No, no. Your stupid stuff is above and beyond anyone else's stupid stuff. And as your friend I feel inclined," Embry held up a finger, "Nay, obligated to remind you about all the stupid shit you've done."

"What are you guys talking about?" Julie and Kate walked up to where Quil, Embry, Seth and Jacob were standing.

Embry threw his arm around Kate's shoulders. "We are doing 'remember that time'."

Kate frowned."What's that?"

"Well, it's when we talk about all the stupid things that Quil did during his misspent youth," Seth told her.

"For instance," Embry began. "Remember that time we went to that concert in Seattle?"

Jacob and Seth brayed laughter.

Quil made a face. "Sometimes I loathe you," he informed Embry.

"Aww, I love you too man," Embry said with a smile.

Quil rolled his eyes.

"What happened in Seattle?" Julie asked.

"When we were kids, like….. what fifteen?" Jacob started.

Embry nodded.

"Well anyway, we got tickets for….some concert, I can't even remember what now…" Jacob paused.

"Beastie Boys," Embry piped up helpfully.

Jacob smiled. "That's right. It was the first time we were allowed to go to the city by ourselves. So we take the bus to Seattle, and we're like a couple hours early for the concert. So Quil gets the great idea…"

"Hey, you guys both agreed it was a good idea," Quil snapped.

"Quil gets the great idea that we'll stop at a bar before we go to the concert. You may not know this, but our little Quil was quite the trouble maker back in the day. He had gotten us all really good fake Ids. From Arizona, no less. So we go to the bar and Quil is pounding 'em down. And we're like 'dude, slow down' and Quil's all 'I can totally hold my liquor'." Jacob started to laugh.

Quil threw him a dirty look. "Hey we _all_ drank of the beer," he intoned.

Jacob ignored Quil and continued. "So two hours later, the kid is so wasted, he can hardly stand. We manage to drag him outside and he proceeds to puke all over the sidewalk. It was amazing. I hadn't ever seen that much puke in my life. Then he totally passes out. So we're sitting there on a bench in downtown Seattle, Quil all passed out, and the concert's going to start any minute. So Embry gets the idea that we leave Quil on the bench and hawk his concert ticket."

Kate gaped at Embry. "You didn't?"

Embry laughed. "We totally did. We left him on the bench, sold his ticket and went to the concert."

"Oh my God," Julie slapped Seth's arm. "How could you do that to your friend."

Seth held up his hands. "Hey I wasn't there!" He defended himself.

"You're lucky," Julie said.

"So what happened?" Kate asked.

"This is the best part," Embry said. "So while we're at the concert, Quil wakes up, but he's still totally out of it. So he sees he's all alone, stumbles to the Greyhound station, and tries to buy a ticket home. But when he goes to pay, his wallet's gone," Embry snorted at the memory.

"See, we didn't want his wallet to get stolen, so we took it," Jacob added.

"So he's getting all belligerent with the ticket person and bam. They call the cops and Quil gets picked up on a drunk and disorderly, public intoxication and underage consumption. It was freaking awesome."

"Yeah, totally awesome," Quil muttered. "Some friends you guys are. I was grounded for two months for that one."

Kate laughed. "I hate to say it, but that's pretty funny."

"OH OH, here's a good one," Seth jumped in. "Remember that time when Quil got fired from babysitting?"

Jacob and Embry laughed. "Yeah that's classic."

"You babysat?" Kate asked.

Quil narrowed his eyes. "I didn't _want_ to baby-sit. What happened was this-"

"No, no, you can't tell the 'remember that time' stories because you inevitably make them less entertaining than they are," Embry scolded.

"So Mrs. Menchan used to be neighbors with Claire's parents," Seth said. "Well she would see Quil at the house all the time playing with Claire…this was when Claire was little. So she asks Sharon about the 'babysitter'. Sharon waxes all poetic about how great Quil is with Claire. So Mrs. Menchan asks him to baby-sit her kids one night. Quil figures what the hell, he can use the money. So he goes over there. Well, the thing about Quil is, he's not that great with kids. I mean you've seen him with Sam and Emily's kids, he treats them like little pod people."

"Not true," Quil snapped. "I just…..am not a fan of children," he finished lamely. "I was wronged in that whole Menchan babysitting situation!"

"So Quil's babysitting Billy and Kelly Menchan, and Billy does something stupid, I don't even remember what now-"

"He was throwing stuff down the toilet and flushing it. Water overflowed everywhere!" Quil shouted.

Seth laughed. "Yeah, yeah, so Quil storms into the bathroom and yells 'what the hell are you doing you stupid fucker'. Billy's trying to explain why he did it and Quil tells him 'you are a little bastard who was probably adopted'."

"Quil! You didn't say that did you?"

Quil threw his arms in the air. "He had water….everywhere! It was all over! What was I supposed to do?"

"Somehow I don't think calling a little kid a fucker and telling him he was adopted was the answer," Kate chastised.

"Well so anyway, Quil's cursing up a storm and trying to unclog the toilet when Mrs. Menchan gets home. First thing out of Billy's mouth is 'Quil called me a stupid fucker and said I was adopted. Is that true mom?'. Mrs. Menchan flips out, calls Sharon screaming, fires Quil and never even pays him."

"That kid was a fucktard," Quil informed them.

"You are never babysitting my child," Julie laughed.

Quil made a face. "I don't want to baby-sit your kid," he snapped.

He glanced up and saw Claire saying good bye to a group of her friends. "About time," he muttered. "I'm going to talk to Claire," Quil informed them.

He stormed across the lawn, everyone's laughter echoing in his ears.


	17. Rook to Queen's Pawn

**Okay, so I know I live in a "battleground" state and all but WTF people!? Why must my whole life be interrupted by stupid politicians? I mean McCain was here the other day (plus his people keep calling my house....get over it I am NOT voting for you) Hillary was here the day after that and there was an Obama rally last night. Like I just want to get to where I want to go and I have to deal with flipping traffic everywhere! And seriously? The phone calls have got to stop. I'm a registered DEMOCRAT. STOP CALLING ME McCAIN!! Sorry, I just can't help the venting.**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Rook to Queen's Pawn" by Fujiya & Miyagi from the album "Lightbulbs"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 30 10:13 PM**

"There you are," Claire said with a smile as Quil strode up to her. "I wondered where you had gone off to."

"ME?!" Quil snapped. "_You_ wondered where _I _went? You were by the car and then you weren't by the car and then you were with people and then I had to sit and listen to Embry, Jake and Seth 'remember that time' me! So I ask where the hell were _you_?" He flailed his arms about as he spoke.

"Why are you yelling at me," Claire asked, her voice surprised.

Quil took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell." He made a face. "Except that I do! All day long I've had to chase you from here to kingdom come to get a second of your time. I realize it's your birthday, but hello? I'm here too. Can you see me? 'Cause I'm here!" Quil waved a hand in front of her eyes.

Claire pushed his hand out of her face. "I know you're here," she snapped.

"Could have fooled me! I'm very slowly losing it over here. I've had people in my face all day long flipping yapping away and not one of them was you!" Quil pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Well I'm sorry that I had to celebrate my birthday with my friends," Claire spat. "How dare I not think of y_ou_ all day long."

"You're right. I'm sorry. You don't have to think of me. I'm just good 'ole Quil, who's there for you whenever you need me, who does whatever you ask, who lives his whole life to make you happy. Why should you think about me at all?"

Claire frowned. "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem? HA! Like you don't know Miss Flashy Boobsalot."

Claire nodded slowly. "I see. So this is because I didn't drop my pants and screw you first thing this morning?"

Quil's eyes widened. "What?! No!"

"Well then why are you so bent out of shape?" Claire crossed her arms over her chest.

Quil sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. I'm just frustrated I guess."

Claire dropped her arms and grabbed Quil's hands in hers. "I'm sorry, okay. I know we didn't get to spend much time together and I also know I didn't help the situation to much. That wasn't fair to you."

Quil shook his head. "It's not your fault." After a pause he added. "Well not entirely. It's just been a pretty lousy day overall."

"Are you very mad at me?"

"Honestly? A little bit, yeah."

Claire dropped his hands. "Seriously? You're mad at me?"

Quil shrugged. "I said a little bit."

"_You're_ mad at _me_?! I should be mad at you!" Claire glared at him.

"For what?! I didn't do anything!" Quil defended himself.

"No? You didn't _do _anything? What about acting like a big baby all day?"

"I didn't act like a baby!"

"Quil you actually stomped your foot at me! I mean come on, that's playground behavior."

Quil held up his hands. "You know what? This is stupid. It's been a long day, we're both tired. I'm just going to go home."

Claire stared at him. "Wait, you're going to leave?"

"Yeah, I think it's just best if I go. We're going to end up saying something we both regret, and I don't want that. I'll call you tomorrow." He turned to walk away.

Claire reached out and grabbed his arm. "You're really going? You don't want to stay with me?"

"Not right now. I'm upset, you're upset. It's just pointless at present for me to stick around. Tomorrow we'll be less tired and irritable. We can talk then."

Claire dropped his arm. "Fine go ahead and leave."

"I'll call you, okay?"

"Whatever."

Quil sighed. "Alright." He walked slowly away, then halted and looked back at her. "Happy Birthday," he said quietly.

Claire just shook her head. She gave Quil a hard look. "I can't believe how immature you're being. I'm sorry that you didn't have my full, undivided attention today. But my whole world does not revolve around you!"

Quil gave her a sad look. "I know," he said quietly. "But mine revolves around you." He turned and began walking again.

He heard Claire spin around and storm off towards the house.

Quil saw Sharon give him a questioning look, but he didn't bother to stop walking. As he made his way across the yard he ran into Embry and Kate who were heading for Embry's car.

"Hey, you guys going to our place?" Quil asked.

Embry nodded. "Yeah, we're going now."

"Can I get a ride?"

Embry raised his eyebrows. "You're leaving? I figured you'd stick around."

"Nope. I just want to go home and I don't feel like walking."

"Umm, okay. Well hop in."

Quil climbed into the back of Embry's car and slumped down on the seat. On a scale of one to ten of bad days, this one ranked at about one thousand. He ignored Embry and Kate's light banter as they drove. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Anger, hurt, frustration, annoyance, guilt, they all fought for a prominent place in his mind. He knew tomorrow he'd have to make amends with Claire, but for right now, he just settled in to enjoy his misery.


	18. Tonight Romanticize the Automobile

**Just wanted to throw this one in to finish off the whole Seth/Julie thing. Only a few more chapters to go and then yay it's done. This one has been a total pain to write! I had like three chapter ideas but since I called it twenty four hours I kind of had to write 24 chapters and let's just say that was MUCH harder than expected. However I'm working on the last three right now, so it should be done in a few days.**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Tonight Romanticize the Automobile" by Hawksley Workman from the album "Lover/Fighter"**

* * *

**Seth & Julie: October 30 11:01 PM**

Seth helped Julie into his car, then walked around and climbed in himself.

"Seatbelt," Julie told him as he started the engine.

"Sorry," Seth muttered. He jerked his seatbelt on then pulled out of the driveway. "You're staying with me tonight, right?" he asked.

Julie shook her head. "No, I want my own bed tonight."

Seth gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "Do you think maybe you could have told me that earlier? I have to patrol tonight," he said through gritted teeth.

Julie looked over at him. "I'm sorry, it didn't come up," she said shortly.

Seth took a shuddering breath. "Well when you pulled me aside tonight and we had that whole conversation, you couldn't have said 'by the way, I can't be bothered to stay with you tonight'."

Julie frowned. "Why are you getting so mad?"

"Because!" Seth snapped. "This is fucking ridiculous. You and me living so far apart."

"Seth, we've talked about this-"

"No you've talked about it! I feel like…..I feel like…"

"What? You feel like what?" Julie said harshly.

"I feel like I have nothing to do with you or this baby, well you know except for the part that I did."

"That's crazy!"

Seth shook his head. "No it's not! I mean you get pissed anytime I discuss any sort of permanent living arrangement, anytime I bring up getting married. It makes me feel like you don't want me around."

Julie glanced at her lap, her fingers twisting nervously together. "That's not true," she said quietly.

"I hate to tell you this, but it is. I know that your divorce was hard. I _know_ that. But I'm not him! I am not Scott. I'm me! I love you. I'm not going to leave you, I'm not going to treat you badly. This is my baby too, and I won't be shut out of his life because you're scared I'm going to hurt you," Seth ranted.

"Okay," Julie said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Okay what?" Seth snapped.

"Okay I'll marry you. I'll move to La Push."

Seth slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a halt. Automatically his arm shot out to hold Julie in her seat as they were jerked forward. He threw the car into park and turned to look at her. "What did you say?"

Julie took a deep breath. "Let's get married."

Seth shook his head. "No."

"What do you mean no?" Julie frowned. "I thought this was what you wanted."

Seth sighed. "I don't want you to settle. I want you to marry me because you want to, not because you feel fucking obligated."

"I don't feel obligated!" Julie snapped.

"Bullshit. Then why did you say no the fifty odd times I've asked you to marry me."

"Because half of the times you asked me I was still married!"

"SO?!"

"You know what? I can't talk to you when you're like this." Julie turned to stare out her window.

"Like what?" Seth yelled.

"Belligerent. And rude. Just take me home."

"Fine." Seth threw the car into drive and stomped on the gas.

"Could you please be careful!" Julie snapped. "You may be pissed at me right now, but think about your baby."

Seth took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm really sorry."

Julie shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I do love you. I've never loved anyone more than I love you, other than my daughters. But Seth, this is just all so overwhelming. I mean I never planned on being with someone so soon after getting separated. I mean God, I met you the same week Scott and I decided to get a divorce. I certainly never planned on having another baby. I just didn't expect any of this. It doesn't mean I don't want to be with you. I do want to be with you. But I also need you to respect how I feel. Can you do that for me?"

Seth nodded. "Yeah, okay."

They rode without speaking for a long time. The silence was beginning to become to much for Seth, the quiet pressing in on him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when Julie suddenly spoke up.

"I want to do it. I want to marry you. I'll move in with you."

"Julie, I don't want to force you into anything."

"No, you're not forcing me. I sat here thinking about how I haven't been very fair to you. This is your son. It's not right for me to not take into account your feelings. I'm being stupid. I love you, I know you love me. I don't know why that's so hard for me to deal with. I want to be with you, I want to raise our son as a family. I don't want him to have a hyphenated last name. I just want it to be Clearwater. I want him to go to the tribal school. I want him to grow up on your reservation. And more than anything, I hope he becomes a wolf so that you two can live forever…together."

Seth sighed deeply. "I don't want to live forever. Not without you."

Julie gave a sad laugh. "Honey, you realize my life is half over don't you? I have maybe forty years, if I'm really, really lucky. But you? Your life has barely begun. I don't want you to throw that away for me."

"I wouldn't be throwing anything away. Forty years is a long time. We can live a lifetime together in forty years. Hell that's more than my parents had. That's more than most people have."

"Maybe it is," Julie said thoughtfully. "Well we don't have to decide anything right away. Let's worry about getting married, me moving, and us having this baby together. That's more than enough to think about right now."

Seth nodded. "Are you really sure about this?" He asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Yes, I'm really sure. In fact I'm more sure about this than I've ever been about anything else in my life."

Seth grinned. "It's about fucking time."

Julie laughed. "Yeah, yeah it is."


	19. The Fool

**Chapter title taken from the song "The Fool" by Neutral Milk Hotel from the album "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"**

* * *

**Quil, Embry & Kate: October 31 12:21 AM**

"I can't believe you forgot your stuff, Kate. I mean we left almost two hours ago! And by the way is it just me or was that like the longest party in history?" Embry grumbled as he, Kate and Quil filed through the door of the house. "I feel like we've been gone all day!"

"It _was_ the longest, worst day ever!" Quil spat. He stormed into the kitchen and yanked open a cupboard.

"I apologized for forgetting my stuff. And I told you I was perfectly content without it. You're the one who insisted we go all the way to my place to get it, then drive all the way back here. And for the record I thought the party was nice," Kate said.

"That's because you talked with Julie all night about babies and other girly stuff. I had to hang out with him," Embry jerked his thumb at Quil who was still rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets.

Embry watched him for a moment, then when a large amount of boxed food spilled out of a cabinet onto the counter, he jumped into the kitchen. "Dude, what the hell are you doing? Seth is going to flip out when he sees this mess." He tried to pull Quil away from the cabinets.

"Screw Seth and his anal retentive crap. I'm on a mission. I know there is liquor in here somewhere and I'm finding it," Quil retorted.

"I can see this situation having the potential to become a 'remember that time' moment," Embry muttered.

"WHERE IS IT!" Quil yelled. He slammed a cabinet closed and glared around the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes at Embry. "Did you drink it?"

Embry made a face. "You know I don't touch the hard stuff," he said. "It's beer or nothing for me."

"Then where the hell did I put it?" Quil asked.

"I hope you aren't asking me to explain the inner workings of your mind," Embry said.

"Did you try under the sink?" Kate suggested.

Quil snorted. "Yeah, I'd just put it under the sink with all of the cleaning stuff that's you know….toxic."

"You have cleaning supplies?" Kate asked. "I would have never guessed."

Quil stormed over to the sink and threw the cabinet door open. He stared for a moment, then said "Oh." He pulled the bottle of Jack Daniel's from under the sink. "Well I'll be," he said slowly. He turned to look at Kate. "You're a genius."

Kate just stared at him.

Quil walked over, grabbed a tall glass and filled it with the whiskey.

Embry widened his eyes. "Jesus Quil, why don't I just get you a needle and syringe and you can mainline it."

Quil gave a hearty laugh. "You are one funny son of a bitch you know that?"

Embry shrugged. "I try," he mumbled. "Well, Kate and I are going to bed." He tried to hustle Kate down the hallway towards his room, when Quil spoke up.

"Come on, hang out with me for a while."

Embry groaned. Kate tried to sneak down to Embry's room, but he snagged the back of her shirt. "If I suffer, we all suffer," he said through gritted teeth.

Kate sighed. "Fine," she whispered. "But you owe me."

"Yeah, yeah," Embry waved his hand at her. They turned and slowly made their way back into the kitchen. Embry poked his head around the corner. "What's up?" He asked.

Quil sighed deeply. "What's wrong with me?"

Embry frowned. "Is there a right answer to that question?"

"I'm being serious!" Quil cried.

Embry rolled his eyes. "Fine." He pulled out a kitchen chair and flopped down. "What's your problem?"

"That's what I want to know. What _is_ my problem? Am I just a glutton for punishment? Do I have something about me that screams 'heap on the abuse'?"

"I have a thought," Embry said slowly. "You're an ass! Seriously, stop feeling so sorry for yourself."

"Embry," Kate hissed.

"What?!" Embry snapped. "I'm not kissing his ass. 'Claire didn't pay attention to me, everybody is so mean to me' blah blah blah, with the whining. No, it's no good. Shut the hell up."

"Touché," Quil said.

"Well I'm serious. I mean you need to take all your freaking baggage, stick it in a little lock box, throw away the key and file it in a drawer labeled Sense comma Makes No."

Quil frowned. "You're not really making me feel any better," he said.

Embry shrugged. "I don't care. It's not my job to make you feel better. It's my job to tell you you're being an ass. Which I did. So…..you're welcome."

"This coming from the guy who freaked out when I said I wouldn't sleep with him," Quil grumbled.

"When what?" Kate asked.

Embry held up a finger. "I feel it prudent to mention that he was trying to choose Seth over me. That just can't be allowed. It's blasphemy."

"It was hypothetical!" Quil shouted.

"Whatever, you don't know what you'd be missing. Kate tell him."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so not helping you with this one."

"Fine, don't help me, but know this Quil. I might be forced to strip you of your best friend merit badge."

Quil clapped his hand over his mouth. "Not that! One more and I get to lead the sing along at the next jamboree!"

"You two are ridiculous. I'm going to bed," Kate said. She left the kitchen and made her way to Embry's room.

Embry waited until he heard his door close. "On a serious note. Look, I realize that things didn't quite go the way you planned today. But drinking is not going to solve your problems. You've got to not let this shit weigh you down. I mean you used to be the most care free guy I knew. Nothing got to you. And the last few years…..you've been moody and pretty damn depressing. Stop being so serious. What happens, happens. You're going to drive yourself crazy if you don't calm the hell down."

Quil sighed. "I know you're right, I just can't help myself sometimes. Today with everyone lecturing me, and then Claire and I fighting, it just all kind of got to me."

"I feel for you, I really do. I can't imagine how hard all of this has been. But man you've got to lighten up. Take it from me. I used to be so serious when we were younger, and a lot of the time I was miserable. Now, I'm not so serious and I can honestly say I'm a hell of a lot happier. Just keep that in mind."

"I'll try."

Embry nodded. "Good. Now do me a favor and pour half of that stuff back into the bottle. This is all a little to AA for me."

Quil sighed, but dumped half his glass back into the bottle. "You know, you're right, I am an ass. And now Claire's pissed at me. And I deserve it."

"I'm sure you do deserve it, but do me a favor," Embry stood up. "Talk to yourself about it because I have like a five minute window before Kate falls asleep and I don't want to miss my opportunity to get laid."

"Wow, that really helps me out. Thanks buddy," Quil rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you think you're frustrated _now_? Wait until you and Claire are in a real relationship. Then talk to me about frustrated."

Quil laughed and waved his hand towards the hall. "Just go."

"Thank you." Embry turned and bolted down the hallway.


	20. Quiver and Quake

**Chapter title taken from the song "Quiver and Quake" by Elf Power from the album "In A Cave"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 31 1:37 AM**

Quil lay on his bed, his mind racing. He had to come up with the perfect apology. A dance wouldn't cut it this time. He had completely and utterly blown it. Huge. He just prayed Claire would forgive him for his selfishness. She had been right. He had acted pretty immature. She had every right to enjoy her party without him making it harder for her. And while the teasing had been hard to deal with, he should have known that that was just Claire. His Claire. She had always twisted him into knots, even when she was little, even before anything physical had come into the picture.

Quil was pulled out of his reverie by a rapping on his bedroom window. He climbed off of the bed and walked over, his senses on high alert. He pulled the curtains aside and gave a sigh of relief.

He yanked the window up. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're here," he said.

Claire looked up at him. "Help me in," she said.

Quil reached out and easily pulled her through the window.

Once she was on her feet, Claire began to pace. Quil sat on his bed and watched her. She had changed from her dress into black track pants and a loose white tee shirt. It was too big on her and fell off one smooth shoulder. Quil recognized it as one of his shirts that had mysteriously disappeared from his room and smiled. She had washed all of her make up off and her hair was swept up in a messy bun, loose strands falling around her face. Quil decided she had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment.

"We need to talk," Claire finally said. She stopped pacing and stood at the foot of his bed.

Quil nodded. "I agree. First let me say this. You were right. I was being immature and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your birthday."

Claire held up her hand. "Yes, you were immature. But I kind of was too. I teased you because I knew I could, and that's not right. So I'm sorry too."

Quil frowned. "No see, you're supposed to be really pissed off at me. And I'm supposed to you know, beg for forgiveness. And then you're supposed to tell me that I'm a total ass."

"You were an ass," Claire said.

"I know."

"But, you kind of had a reason to be. I didn't treat you very well today." Claire walked over and sat on the bed next to Quil. "You were right to be angry with me."

Quil shook his head. "No, you were right to be angry with me."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Can we just agree that we're both idiots and move on?"

"Okay, yes I can live with that." Quil smiled. "I'm really glad you're here. I never did get to wish you a proper Happy Birthday."

"You got me a car. That's a pretty huge birthday gift. I never really thanked you for that. So thank you. I love it. I'm sure I'll love it even more when I can actually drive it."

Quil laughed. "Never fear, I'll be taking care of that." He looked at her. "Happy birthday," he said softly.

Claire glanced at his clock. "Technically it's not my birthday anymore."

Quil shrugged. "Who cares." He leaned over and kissed her softly. When he pulled away, he saw Claire looking at him intently. "What?"

Claire took a deep breath. "I came over here tonight to do something. And I'm going to do it." She wrung her hands nervously.

"What's that?" He asked.

"This."

Claire leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again. When he tried to pull away, she locked her arms around his neck and held him tighter.

Quil managed to break the kiss and gave her a confused look. "What's up?" He asked slowly.

"What?" Claire asked, her tone anxious.

"Is this about today? Because I mean I know I was a jerk, but I didn't expect-"

Claire pressed a finger against his lips. "Please stop talking," she said softly.

She moved over and climbed onto Quil's lap. "Just kiss me."

Quil nodded and complied. He kissed her, his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. And then it wasn't just a kiss. It was the most powerful and passionate kiss he had ever experienced. His hands wrapped around her waist and he turned them both, laying her back on the bed. He lay on top of her and his hands were everywhere, and she was tugging on his shirt, and it was all so intense that he thought he might explode. He broke the kiss long enough to help her pull his shirt over his head and then his own hands were pulling her shirt up and off, and then he was covering her again, and the feeling of her bare skin against his was amazing. He moaned loudly into her mouth and she moaned back. His large hands were trying desperately to pull her even closer, and then her legs were wrapped around his waist and he thought he might die from it all.

He took her wrists and pushed her arms above her head and his mouth was moving, tasting every inch of her bare skin. Claire arched up off the bed pushing into his searching lips. He could feel his whole body shaking from the intensity of it, and he had to pull back a moment and take deep gasping breaths lest he lose complete control with her. He released her wrists and she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close again, and then it started all over. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he should stop this, but then she pushed and turned until she was laying on him and her mouth was on his neck and her tongue was in the hollow of his throat and the thought slipped away on a wave of sensation as she moved her lips down his chest. He had never felt so hot. He was always hot, but this heat was like an out of control fire, and he could feel them both sweating from it. It made her skin slick and when she rubbed against him, it was like a kind of torture that was building and building and he thought he could actually see waves of heat in the air.

He flipped her back over and her hands were moving in between their fevered bodies, her fingers brushing against the front of his jeans. He groaned low in his chest as she worked on the buttons and then he suddenly reached down and grabbed her hands.

"What," she gasped, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

He put her hands around his neck and then reached forward and pushed her hair back from where it stuck to her face in sweaty strands.

"Let's just go slow, okay?" he whispered.

Claire nodded. "Okay," she said.

Quil looked deeply into her eyes, and for a fraction of a moment he saw hesitation there. He pulled back from her and said. "Are you really sure about this?"

Claire nodded again. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Quil looked at her intently. "We don't have to," he told her.

"No, it's okay," she told him.

Quil couldn't help but notice that her eyes were focused on a point above his shoulder.

"Maybe we should stop now," he said slowly.

"No, I don't want to stop," Claire said firmly.

Quil nodded slowly. "Just say the word. I'll stop."

Claire just pulled him closer again, and even though he tried, he couldn't keep from kissing her, from pulling her against him, from falling back into that bliss.


	21. The Twist

**GUYS! I had the best day today! So first of all I didn't have to work, which is always good. The weather is PERFECT, 73 and sunny! Then I voted and since I went at like 11:00 there were no lines. Then I went to get gas and it was down to 1.96 and it only took me 27.00 to fill up my car (and can I just wax poetic about my car for a minute....I love it. It's a 2007 Mercury Milan and it is the best car ever! SOOOO comfy and it has a sunroof and an ipod hook up built in. All in all it's way better than my old car was, but I digress) which is a total miracle. THEN this is the best part. The girl at the pump next to me was having a blow out on the phone with someone (boyfriend I'm guessing) and the conversation went like this:**

**"Why would I be hiding anything"**

**pause**

**"Why are you screaming?"**

**pause**

**"He's old, bald and married!"**

**pause**

**"Why are you screaming?"**

**pause**

**"Well if I was hiding something why would I tell you?!"**

**pause**

**"This relationship is over! I'm telling you that right now. This relationship is the fuck over!" (which is poor grammer, but hey she said it, not me)**

**And then she hung up. And I had to try really hard to not laugh.**

**THEN! I got home and there was a deer in my front yard. Which is insane because I don't exactly live in a rural area (15 mins from downtown Cleveland). I normally have to take a nice drive to see any form of wildlife (I have to board my horse a half hour away just to be somewhere that has more than a 1/4 of an acre of land) So that was pretty cool. I mean it was SO CLOSE I could have practically touched it.**

**And it's only 12:53.**

**Okay I totally promise this is the LAST TIME I will use the beginning of a chapter to tell you all about my personal stuff (at least I'll really really try!)**

**Chapter title taken from the song "The Twist" by Frightened Rabbit from the album "The Midnight Organ Fight"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 31 2:22 AM**

Quil's lips were burning a hot trail along Claire's collarbone, following her jaw line, his lips brushing against her cheek. He pulled back abruptly at the tears he tasted on his tongue.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Claire shook her head. "Mmhmm."

"No you're not okay, Claire, you're crying."

"I'm not crying," Claire said, her voice tight.

Quil brushed her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, wiping away her tears. "Yes you are."

Claire buried her face in her hands and let out a choked sob. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry that 'sorry' is such an insignificant word right now."

Quil moved off of Claire to lay next to her. "You have no reason to be sorry. At all," he told her firmly. "If anything I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to do this."

Claire pulled her hands from her face. "No, you didn't," she said vehemently. "I want to, I really, really want to…..at least I wanted to."

"Claire we don't have to. It's not that big of a deal." Quil tried to reassure her.

"It is though! It is a big deal. And now I feel so stupid! Because I want this….I want you. But, I'm scared." A fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes. "God I'm such an idiot." Claire wiped furiously at the tears.

"Baby, you're not an idiot. I'm the idiot. We should have talked about this. I shouldn't have made you feel-"

"You didn't make me feel like I had to do anything! I told you that. I really thought I was ready. But now I'm not so sure." Claire took a shuddering breath. "Do you hate me?"

"No, I could never hate you." Quil cupped Claire's face with his hand. "Our relationship is so much more than just physical. I know I didn't really show you that today, and I'm sorry. I only want you to be happy. We can wait. There is no reason to rush this stuff."

Claire averted her eyes away from Quil's. "This is really embarrassing."

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about."

Claire sighed. "I'll bet you never expected this," she gave a weak laugh.

Quil smiled. "To be honest, I never expected you to forgive me so quickly. So I'm pretty much ahead of the game at this point."

Claire looked back at him, her eyes pleading. "I really am sorry."

Quil shook his head. "Claire, I will never ever make you do something you don't want to. If it means waiting another ten years I'll do it."

Claire's eyes widened. "Let's not be ridiculous. I mean I've hit a little bump in the road here, I don't think it's going to last ten years."

Quil laughed. "You know what I mean."

Claire nodded. "I know."

Quil reached down and grabbed Claire's shirt from the floor. "Here," he said softly.

She gave him a shy smile. She slowly pulled her shirt on then looked at him. "This has probably never happened to you before, huh," she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"A girl throwing herself at you and then telling you no."

"Umm, you just described my entire high school experience," Quil said with a smile.

"What about the six sluts?"

"Who?"

Claire made a face. "The other girls you slept with. I have taken to calling them the six sluts."

"Technically it was five," Quil reminded her. "And four of them were girls who said no, then changed their minds later on."

Claire took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Quil shrugged. "Sure."

"I know your number is five. But like…..how many times have you….you know actually done it? Because I have to say it's pretty nerve racking to think about _that_ number."

"It's not as bad as you think. Once with four of them. More so with number five. But it's been ten years. Believe me when I say I'm just a nervous. I'm way out of practice."

"Ugh."

"What?"

"Out of practice? God, that sounds really bad. Plus it makes me hate number five. A lot."

Quil bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

"Who was she? Can I ask that?"

Quil lay back on his pillows. "Do you really want to talk about this now? We can just get some sleep."

"Do you not want to talk about it?" Claire asked.

"It's not that. I just don't see why it matters."

"Well I've pretty much made a complete fool of myself tonight-"

"No you didn't," Quil said determinedly.

"Well regardless, I want to know. I want to know why this girl was so special that you kept seeing her after you imprinted on me."

Quil sighed. "It was just physical, it didn't mean anything to me. At all."

"I know, but tell me anyway." Claire curled up against Quil's side.

Quil put his arm around Claire and held her close. "Her name is Haley. She's someone who I was able to talk to and one thing led to another and then we slept together."

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long did you see her?"

"Two years."

Claire sat up. "Are you kidding? Two years? That sounds pretty serious to me."

Quil shook his head. "No, it wasn't. It was just…..we both got what we needed out of it. That was all. We never went out on dates or anything."

Claire lay back down and buried her head in Quil's side. "Did you love her?"

"No, I didn't love her. I won't lie to you, I cared about her, but I never loved her. Not like I love you."

Claire pushed her face harder into Quil's side and mumbled. "What if I'm not as good as her?"

"Don't be silly. That won't be true."

"But it might be," Claire said softly.

"Claire, I told you a year ago that being with you will be the most special time for me ever. There won't be any comparison. At all. I barely remember what it was like to be with her. It is the furthest thing from my mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Claire, aside from the fact that you're my soul mate…..I've never been with anyone that I loved. That right there is what makes our relationship so special."

"Okay," Claire whispered. She yawned and snuggled closer to Quil.

"Let's get some sleep, okay?" Quil said quietly.

Claire nodded, her eyes already closing.

Quil kissed the top of her head, and closed his eyes as well.

They lay, cuddled together, and for the moment that was all Quil needed.


	22. Futures & Folly

**Chapter title taken from the song "Futures & Folly" by Blitzen Trapper from the album "Wild Mountain Nation"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 31 3:59 AM**

"Quil?" Claire sat up and looked over at where Quil lay next to her. "Are you awake?"

Quil shook his head and buried his face into his pillow. "No," came his muffled reply.

Claire sighed. "Yes you are. I want to talk to you for a minute, please?"

Quil groaned and cracked an eye open to look at her. "It's been a really, really long day. Can this wait until morning?"

"No," Claire shook her head. "I want to talk about this now."

Quil sat up and pursed his lips. "All right, what's up?"

"I want to talk about when we're going to get married."

"You wanna what?" Quil frowned.

"Married. You. Me. I want to talk about it."

"Okay," Quil sighed. "What about it?"

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about it. And I want to get married in two years. What do you think about that?" Claire looked at Quil intently.

"Two years?" Quil gave her a questioning look. "Claire, what about college?"

Claire shrugged. "What about it?"

Quil tossed his arms in the air. "You going to it."

"No," Claire said simply.

Quil's eyes widened. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!" He shouted.

"HEY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP IN HERE!" Embry pounded on the wall separating his room from Quil's.

Quil frowned, but lowered his voice. "What do you mean no?" He hissed.

"I mean I don't plan on going to college. I plan on marrying you and getting a job. Either on the reservation or maybe in Forks or something."

Quil's jaw dropped. "Claire," He sputtered. "You….you have to go to college."

"Why?" She asked.

"Oh my God, because your education is the most important thing. You have to go." Quil reiterated.

"Why?" Claire asked again.

Quil made a face. "Well what kind of job are you going to get around here, huh? You going to sell handmade jewlery on the side of the road?"

Claire narrowed her eyes. "That was a phase!" She snapped. "Will you never let me live that down?"

"No, I won't," Quil smirked. "I mean as your best customer I can tell you that your jewlery sucked."

"I was ten!" Claire shouted.

"Well it doesn't matter either way because you are going to college and that's final."

"What if I don't want to go?"

"I don't care, you have to go!"

"I keep coming back to why."

"Because I don't want you to end up like me!" Quil said firmly.

"End up like you? What's that supposed to mean?" Claire glared at him.

"I have a dead end job in a crappy little town. I live on a tiny reservation. I have pretty much no money, no education, no real chance for any sort of…..I don't know, anything really."

Claire jumped out of Quil's bed and stuffed her hands on her hips. "Is that my fault? Are you saying that if you hadn't stuck around here for me you would have been better off?"

"What!? NO!" Quil sat up on his knees on the edge of his bed and pulled her close. "Even if you weren't in my life, I'd be right where I am now. Hell, I'd be worse off than I am now. Because I wouldn't have you." He stared into her eyes imploringly. "I want so much better for you. I want you to be able to go anywhere you want, do anything you want. I don't want you to be stuck here, wondering what could have been. I won't let that happen to you."

"What about what I want?" Claire said softly. "All I want is you. I don't need to go anywhere. As long as I have you, that's all I need."

Quil closed his eyes and sighed. "You say that now. But believe me, there is more out there than this place….than me."

"Are you saying you don't want to be with me?" Claire jerked free of his arms and choked out a sob. "Is this because I didn't sleep with you tonight?"

"NO! This has nothing to do with that. God Claire, I don't care about that! I'll wait forever if that's what you want. And I do want to be with you! More than anything. I just don't want you to wake up one day hating me because you think I held you back."

"I would never think that!" Claire said, appalled. "I love you."

"Claire, I love you too, and that's why I'm telling you this. You can't stay here for me." Quil grabbed her hands. "You know that I am not going anywhere. I will always be here for you. I _am_ going to marry you. But you have to go to college."

Claire sniffled. "And what about when I go to college across the country?"

Quil frowned. "You…you would want to go to college all the way across the country?"

"No, I mean, I don't know. I honestly haven't even though about college. But what if I do? What if I go to school in New York or something? What if after school I get a great job and I stay there?"

"Then I'll leave La Push and come be with you," Quil told her.

"What about the pack?"

Quil shrugged. "What about it?"

"You can't leave La Push. That's why I want to stay. The pack needs you. You have a responsibility here. You can't walk away from that."

"Well I thought about this a lot today." Quil took a deep breath. "I'm going to leave the pack when you graduate from college."

"WHAT?!" Claire's shout was so loud it produced another bout of wall pounding from Embry's room.

Quil started at her yell. "I'm going to leave the pack," he repeated.

Claire grabbed a pillow off the bed and whacked Quil on the head with it. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

Quil rubbed his head. "Claire, I don't want anything but you. I want to grow old with you. The only way to do that is to stop phasing, so that's what I'm going to do."

Claire shook her head. "No. No, you love being a wolf more than anything-"

"Not more than you," Quil interrupted.

"No." Claire repeated. "I won't let you give up something you love for me. I won't."

"Claire, don't be irrational."

"UH! I AM NOT IRRATIONAL!"

"Well the screaming says you are." Quil told her.

"Fine, you want to see irrational? Here's irrational." Claire stormed from his room. A moment later Quil heard the bathroom door slam shut.

Quil nodded his head. "Yeah, that was…..smooth."

He flopped back onto the bed. He'd let her cool down for a few minutes then go talk to her. As he lay, he tried valiantly to keep his eyes open, but after a moment his lids drooped. After another moment he was fast asleep.

* * *

A/N: On a totally unrelated matter there is a Blitzen Trapper song called "Furr" that so reminds me of the werewolves. You should check it out. Here are the lyrics if you're curious:

"Furr" by Blitzen Trapper

Yeah, when I was only seventeen  
I could hear the angels whispering  
So I drove into the woods  
And wandered aimlessly about  
Until I heard my mother shouting through the fog  
It turned out to be the howling of a dog  
Or a wolf, to be exact  
The sound sent shivers down my back  
But I was drawn into the pack and before long  
They allowed me to join in and sing their song  
So from the cliffs and highest hills  
Yeah, we would gladly get our fill  
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn  
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong  
For my flesh had turned to fur  
Yeah, and my thoughts they surely were  
Turned to instinct and obedience to God

You can wear your fur  
Like a river on fire  
But you'd better be sure  
If you're making God a liar  
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,  
I'm like fuel on fire  
So if you're gonna get made  
Don't be afraid of what you've learned

On the day that I turned 23  
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree  
When suddenly a girl  
Her skin the color of a pearl  
She wandered aimlessly, but she didn't seem to see  
She was listening for the angels just like me  
So I stood and looked about  
I brushed the leaves off of my snout  
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees  
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees  
So I took her by the arm  
We settled down upon a farm  
And raised our children up as gently as you please

And now my fur has turned to skin  
And I've been quickly ushered in  
To a world that, I confess, I do not know  
But I still dream of running careless through the snow  
Through the howling winds that blow  
Across the ancient distant flow  
To fill our bodies up like water till we know

You can wear your fur  
Like a river on fire  
But you'd better be sure  
If you're making God a liar  
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,  
I'm like fuel on fire  
So if you're gonna get made  
Don't be afraid of what you've learned


	23. The Room Got Heavy

**Chapter title taken from the song "The Room Got Heavy" by Yo La Tengo from the album "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass****"**

* * *

**Embry & Kate: October 31 4:06 AM**

Embry groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. "Great," he muttered. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable.

"Hey, Disco Lady, would you watch the flailing limbs," Kate moaned next to him.

"Sorry," Embry grumped. "But seriously, could they fight any louder?"

Kate sat up. "Who are they? I don't hear anything."

"Quil and Claire. And I happen to have very sensitive ears," Embry informed her. He looked over at Kate and grinned. "Hey since we're both up, do you want to have sex?"

Kate made a face. "Ugh, that's like the last thing I want to do."

"Wow," Embry rolled his eyes. "I'm glad the romance hasn't totally shriveled up and died in our relationship."

Kate laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so tired. All your tossing and turning isn't helping."

Embry sighed. "Sorry. I can't sleep. Quil and Claire are so freaking loud."

Kate gave Embry a serious look. "Can I ask you something? I've wondered about it for a long time but...."

Embry sat up and faced her. "Sure, what's up?"

Kate looked down. "I don't want you to think I'm being judgmental or anything. I like Quil, I really do. But isn't Claire a little……young for him? I mean, she's sixteen. It just seems kind of icky."

Embry licked his lips. "Well," he said slowly. "It's a very complicated situation. I can't really talk about it."

"Right, of course. The old 'I can't talk about it' bit. I get it." Kate flopped back down and rolled over, turning her back to Embry.

"Hey, hey," Embry leaned over her. "It's not that I don't want to tell you…..I just….I can't."

Kate rolled onto her back and looked into Embry's eyes. "Why? Why can't you tell me things? Do you feel like you can't talk to me?"

Embry shook his head. "It's not that at all. If I could tell you, I swear I would."

"Well, we've been together over a year now, and honestly I don't feel like I know anything about you. I mean you won't even tell me how old you are."

"I've told you-"

Kate held up a hand. "If you say 'a lady never reveals her age' one more time, I'm going to lose it. It was cute the first twenty times I heard it. Now, it's just annoying."

Embry bit his lip. "Okay, fine. If you must know……I'm thirty-one."

Kate sat up again. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed that."

Embry smiled. "Well I know my startling good looks help hide my age-"

Kate snorted. "Your narcissism never ceases to amaze me." Her face got serious again. "So how old does that make Quil?"

Embry took a deep breath. "He's thirty."

Kate made a face. "Embry…..you realize that Quil having Claire in bed with him is…..statutory rape."

Embry shook his head vehemently. "NO! It's not. First of all, I can tell you right now that they didn't sleep together tonight."

"How do you know that?"

Embry pointed at his head. "Sensitive ears, remember? Secondly….Quil and Claire's relationship…..it's destiny. It's fate. They were made for each other. Her parents know that and are okay with it. So there's no rape involved. Of any form."

"How can you think this is okay?" Kate asked.

"Because…..it's all part of the complications I can't tell you about."

"Is this some weird Native American thing? Like was she promised to him or something?"

Embry shook his head again. "No it's nothing like that. It's something so much deeper. Quil and Claire are soul mates." Embry sighed. "I wish I could tell you everything, about me, about…..everything. But I can't. So you have to just trust me. Do you trust me?"

Kate started at him a moment. "I'd like to think that I can. But sometimes, all the secrets, all the lies, they make it really hard."

"I don't lie, Kate. I just mix up the facts a little. But it's never to hurt you. I hope you believe that."

"Embry, the fact that you can't tell me things, that hurts."

Embry closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's not my choice. I'm bound by a force much greater than either of us."

"See, when you say things like that…." Kate trailed off. "I just, I don't know what to think when you say that."

Embry opened his eyes and looked into hers imploringly. "Don't give up on me, okay? I don't want to lose you," Embry took a deep breath. "See the problem is….I love you."

Kate's eyes widened. "What?" She said.

"I love you," Embry stated firmly. "I know I've never said it before and I know I don't show it very well, but I do. And I want to tell you things. I promise you, someday, I will. I'll tell you everything. You just have to believe in me. Believe in us."

"You love me?" Kate whispered.

"Yeah," he said simply.

"I love you too, you know that, right?"

Embry nodded. "I kind of figured. Otherwise you wouldn't put up with my bullshit."

Kate laughed. "That's very true. I mean your appalling lack of social skills aside-"

Embry frowned. "I have social skills! I'm the king of fucking charm!"

"Oh my God that is exactly what I'm talking about!" She laughed.

Embry held up a hand. "Judge not lest ye be judged."

Kate's smiled faded and she sighed deeply. "Okay. When you're ready to tell me everything, then you tell me. Until then….I'll trust you."

"Thank you." Embry leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. When he pulled back, he gave her a grin. "Now that we're in love….do you want to have sex?"

Kate groaned. "Go to sleep."

Embry shrugged. "It was worth a try," he muttered.


	24. So Come Back, I Am Waiting

**Chapter title taken from the song "So Come Back, I Am Waiting" by Okkervil River from the album "Black Sheep Boy"**

* * *

**Quil & Claire: October 31 5:01 AM**

"You know what your problem is?"

Quil awoke and sat up with a loud snort. "Huh, wha?"

Claire stared at him. "Were you sleeping?" She accused.

Quil shook his head. "Nooo," he said slowly.

"Unbelievable. I've been in that bathroom for over an hour and you're in here sleeping!"

"I was giving you space," Quil told her, his voice laced with sugary sweetness.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay."

Quil's shoulders slumped. "Fine, yes I fell asleep. But I am so tired! I've been up for almost twenty four hours."

"So have I!"

"Yeah but I had patrol last night. So I only got like three hours of sleep before you woke me up by pouncing on me, and for the record, nearly giving me a heart attack."

Claire laughed. "You know, I honestly think you are the biggest baby I know."

"I'm tired!" Quil whined. "It was a long day. But I digress. I believe you were about to tell me you know what my problem is."

Claire paused. "Yeah, well…….damn it I had this whole thing about you being completely neurotic. I mean you are totally obsessive, you are overanxious, you are completely oversensitive-"

Quil held up a hand. "That's where I draw the line. I am not sensitive."

Claire raised her eyebrows. "Quil, you have watched the Neverending Story how many times? You cry every time that horse sinks into the swamp of nothingness or whatever even though you know it comes back at the end. Plus anytime I so much as look at you cross eyed you flip out."

Quil sighed. "You make an excellent point," he muttered. "In my defense though, that scene is really sad. It scarred me as a child."

"Yeah well I had a whole bunch of other stuff as well but I totally lost my train of thought when I came in here to find you fast asleep."

Quil snorted. "Well I'm sorry but I'm tired. TIRED! It's time to sleep now. So let's do it."

Claire sauntered over to the bed. "What if I don't want to sleep," she said quietly.

Quil flopped back onto his pillows. "Well, then more power to you, but I'm going to drop any second so…" He closed his eyes and yawned.

Sleep nearly over took him when he felt Claire climb on top of him.

He opened his eyes. "Wha-"

Claire put her finger over his lips. She leaned over pressed her lips lightly against his.

Quil pulled back a moment. "Claire," he whispered. "You don't have to do this."

Claire nodded. "I do. I want to. For real this time."

Quil stared deeply into her eyes. "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting."

"I'm sure."

Quil took a deep breath. "Please don't do this just for me."

"I'm not doing it just for you. I'm doing it for me. For us. I love you." Claire kissed him again.

Quil moaned into her mouth and deepened the kiss, his hands pulling Claire closer.

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Quil pulled away. "Let's not, okay?"

Claire frowned. "You don't want to?"

"No, I do but……Claire you were crying earlier. I don't want to do anything that makes you cry."

"Quil, I had a nervous moment. I'm over it. Sitting in the bathroom for the last HOUR gave me a lot of time to think. And I think the reason I was so scared is because I love you so much, and I don't want to disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me. Ever. But Claire…."

"No. I'm making an executive decision on this matter. So shut up and let's do this."

Quil frowned. "Well now I'm totally in the mood," he said sarcastically.

"Don't joke right now, please?"

"Who's joking? Claire your first time is supposed to be really special. Not after spending an hour in the bathroom because we had a fight, and not after you called me neurotic, which hurt my feelings by the way-"

"See, sensitive," Claire said in a sing song voice.

"Whatever. I just…….I'm going to put my foot down."

"You're doing what now?" Claire leaned forward and kissed Quil lightly on the jaw. She brushed her lips up and down, leaving butterfly kisses in her wake.

"Ummm, I'm ah…..putting my foot…" Quil trailed off and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "Okay," he murmured.

"That's what I thought," Claire whispered against his neck.

"No, wait no." Quil sat up pulling Claire along with him.

"Well this is interesting," Claire muttered.

"Claire......I really think we should wait."

Claire shook her head. "You know what. Fine. I'll just go then." She went to stand, but Quil grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the bed.

"Would you just hear me out please? We need to be able to talk about these things or we're going to be right where we were a year ago."

Claire sighed. "Okay, so talk."

Quil took a deep breath. "I don't want this to happen with us in a hurried, lust filled blow out. I want it to be special. For you. Right now we're both overtired, emotional and some of us are apparently neurotic."

Claire gave a small laugh.

"I want there to be flowers and music and I don't want to be taking off a Redskins shirt and cartoon character boxers."

"Aww, I like your Scooby boxers," Claire smiled.

Quil made a face. "That is not the point. The point is that I want to be able to savor it........you. There is going to be the right time and the right place for making love........and tonight's not that night."

Claire nodded. "Okay," she took a deep breath. "To tell you the truth I'm actually kind of glad we're not going to. I lied a little when I said I wasn't still scared."

Quil smiled at her. "To tell you the truth I'm a little scared too. But you know," he gave her a small wink. "There is a whole bunch of other things we can do, that are pretty dang fun."

Claire's lips twitched. "Did you just say 'dang fun'? What are you my grandfather? Now I'm not so sure I even want you touching me."

Quil gave her a mock growl. "Oh yeah?" He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her back on the bed. He lay down beside her and smiled. "I love you, I only worry about your future because I want the best for you," he said quietly.

"I know you do," she smiled up at him. "Now what do you say we have some dang fun."

Quil laughed. "I like the way you think."


	25. Morning Has Broken

**So here it is the final chapter. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read the story. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed it! (Notice how I called it 24 hours but there are 25 chapters.....apparently my math skills are not quite up to par)**

**Chapter title taken from the song "Morning Has Broken" by The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster from the album "Hörse of the Dög_"_**

**_

* * *

_**

Quil & Claire: October 31 6:42 AM

Quil awoke to a comforting weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Claire.

"Hmm, déjà vu," he said with a smile. "I could get used to waking up like this."

"Me too," Claire grinned.

Quil snuggled back into the bed and held Claire tight against him. "It's early, let's go back to sleep."

Claire shook her head. "I can't. I have to get home before Sharon goes ballistic."

Quil gave her a nervous look. "Does she know you came?" he asked.

Claire smirked. "Well I wasn't planning on telling her that little detail."

Quil made a face. "That's just gross," he said. "Maybe you need to go hang out with Embry. That's the kind of thing he would say. You both have your minds in the gutter."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and you're such a saint."

"I am," Quil said proudly.

"Okay, St. Quil. And to answer your question, no I didn't tell her I was coming here, but that woman knows everything. It's almost uncanny. Maybe she has hidden cameras following me around."

Quil smiled. "Ohh, ask if I can get a copy of last nights footage."

"Now whose mind is in the gutter!" Claire slapped Quil's arm.

Quil laughed. "Sorry." His look turned serious. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. "I mean I know we didn't sleep together but stuff still got pretty intense."

"I am," Claire smiled. "I'm more than okay."

Quil relaxed and gave her a smug look. "Well I am nothing, if not a perfectionist."

Claire sat up. "Okay, I'm leaving."

"What? Wait, don't go yet," Quil pulled her back down.

"Quil, I can't stay. There isn't enough room in here for you, me and your gigantic ego."

"We'll make room for you. Seriously, there is a perfect Claire sized space right here in this bed with us."

"Sorry, but if you ever want to see me again, I really have to try and get home before my parents wake up."

Quil frowned. "We can take them! If we work as an unit," he pushed his fingers together in a locked position "we can effectively fight them."

Claire raised her eyebrows. "I don't think so. I think Sharon could effectively kick your ass though."

Quil dropped his hands. "Yeah, you're probably right," he sighed. "How embarrassing is that?"

"I think it's cute." She reached up and gave him a soft kiss.

Quil's lip curled up in disgust. "I'm not cute," he said, affronted. "Sensitive and cute. I might as well just wear a dress today."

Claire laughed. "I think I'd like to see that. It is Halloween after all."

Quil looked thoughtful. "Well I am pretty sexy," he said slowly.

"Yes you are," Claire said and kissed him again.

Quil closed his eyes and clutched her closer. "You better leave soon if you're going, otherwise you might not make it out of here," he told her when she broke the kiss.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" she asked.

"Either….both," he murmured into her hair.

"I'm going to keep you to that," she said.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Quil told her.

Claire kissed him a last time, then climbed off of the bed. "Will you call me later? We need to talk about this whole college thing a little more. But.....I think you're right."

Quil nodded. "I am right."

Claire nodded and walked over to his bedroom door. She put her hand on the knob, then turned and looked back at him. "By the way, do you know what next weekend is?"

"No. What's next weekend." Quil gave her a curious stare.

"Homecoming. And," Claire held up a finger. "I have a dress this time. So what do you think? Will you take me?"

Quil looked at her for a long moment. "I'd love to," he said finally.

Claire smiled. "You really are the king of boyfriends, you know that?"

Quil shrugged humbly. "What can I say? I'm practically perfect."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Okay, that last ounce of space your ego wasn't hogging? Yeah, it's totally gone now. I'm out of here."

Quil sat up all the way. "You want me to take you home?" He asked.

"No, I'm going to use my walk to reflect on the past twenty four hours."

Quil smiled. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah. Good crazy though."

"Forget calling, I'll just come over and see you later, okay?"

"I don't know. I mean I'm kind of sick of you right now," Claire laughed.

Quil snorted. "Right. Well you better get used to it because I hate to tell you this darling, but you're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

Claire gave him a pleased smile. "I'm counting on it."

FIN

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A/N: So there it is, the end. I hope you don't think it sucked too much! Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it!


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